Serves 2

I cooked this traditional Italian recipe on a sloping field in Cornwall using only a Trangia meths stove. Unfortunately Math’s filling was prised free by a rogue shard of shell, which meant he was dosed up on painkillers for the rest of our trip. You can put this meal together on store cupboard ingredients, none of which will go off if you don’t have decent refrigeration. You only need one cooking ring; if you have two, then you can prepare the pasta on one and the sauce on the other.

A sloping field in Cornwall

Ingredients
200g dried spaghetti
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Jar of preserved clams, drained (Carluccio’s in St. Ives provided mine)
Half a glass of white wine
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

Equipment
One or two ring stove
Frying pan
Large saucepan with lid
Knife
Chopping board

Method
Cook your pasta first in salted water. Once cooked, drain, but leave a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water in the pan. This will stop your pasta sticking together as you cook the sauce and form a cooking liquor. Cover to keep warm.
Fry onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Pour in the wine and let it cook for three to five minutes. Throw in the clams.
Once the clams are hot add the parsley and pasta with its reserved cooking liquor. Taste and season with salt, pepper and lemon if needed.