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1
Preheat the oven to 375F.
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2
Toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon thyme.
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3
Spread them on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown.
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4
Put a large pot of heavily salted water on to boil.
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5
Heat a very large saute pan or Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes.
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6
Pour in the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, swirl the pan, and add the rosemary sprig and the chiles, crumbled with your hands.
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7
Let them sizzle in the oil about a minute or so, turn the heat down to medium, and add the onion, fennel, bay leaves, and remaining tablespoon thyme.
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8
Season with 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
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9
Cook 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring often.
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Add the garlic, and continue cooking another 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and soft.
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11
Drop the pasta in the rapidly boiling water.
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12
Add the clams to the vegetables and toss to coat well.
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13
Add the wine and cover the pot.
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14
Cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes or so.
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15
(After a couple of minutes, lift the lid, gently stir the clams to help distribute the heat, and re-cover the pan.)
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16
When all the clams have opened, remove the pan from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the clams to a roasting pan or baking sheet.
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17
when theyre cool enough to handle, take half of the clams out of their shells and set aside.
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(If you like, you can skip this step and serve all the clams in their shells.)
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19
Discard any unopened clams.
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20
When the pasta is al dente, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, and then drain the pasta.
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21
Return the pan to medium-high heat, and add the pasta to the vegetables, tossing the noodles well.
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22
Cook 3 to 4 minutes, to reduce the juices and coat the pasta.
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23
If the noodles seem dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.
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24
Add the butter, a big squeeze of lemon juice, the sliced chile, shucked clams, parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
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25
Toss well and taste for seasoning.
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26
Arrange the pasta on a large warm platter and spoon the clams still in their shells over the noodles.
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27
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.
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28
This pasta needs to be made to order.
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29
Although you can grind and toast your breadcrumbs, dice your vegetables, and clean the clams ahead of time, most of the work is at the last minute.
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30
To clean the clams, soak them in cold water for 10 minutes, tossing them every few minutes or so.
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31
If the clams are very sandy, add a small handful of cornmeal or a splash of milk to the water, to encourage them to spit out the sand.
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32
The pot you choose for this dish needs to be large enough to accommodate the clams and the noodles.
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33
If you dont have one large enough, make this dish in two pots, splitting the ingredients accordingly.
