Spaghetti e Vongole

This is my favourite Italian dish. I first ate this at a grimy little place just off Shaftesbury Avenue, London called Centrale. It is between a strip club and a minicab office at Cambridge Circus. Despite the poor state of repair of the restaurant I kept going back during the 10 years I lived in London. I even took an Italian friend who proclaimed this dish to be the best he had tasted outside of Sicily. Next time I am back in London I will definitely return to this place. The owner looks a little like Sofia Loren.

Ingredients (4-5 persons)
Fresh or tinned clams (shelled) 500 gr. (1.1 pound),
Cherry tomatoes 200 gr. (0.44 pound).
Chopped garlic 2 cloves
Olive oil 1/4 cup
Salt 1/2
teaspoon Chopped parsley 1/4 cup
Spaghetti 500 gr. (1.1 pound)

Preparation.
1. Wash the clams in salt water before cooking.
2. Cut each tomatoes into 2-3 pieces.
3. In a sauce pan over medium heat, saute garlic in oil until light blond.
4. Add tomatoes, salt, half of parsley . Stir slowly and cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Add drained clams, stir and cover for 3-4 minutes.
If the sauce is too dry add 1/4 cup boiling water from the pasta pan.
6. Drain the spaghetti cooked al dente and put back into the same pasta pan, pour on the clam juice from the sauce pan and stir for 1 minute over medium heat (You can start to cook pasta, in the pan with boiling water, when adding tomatoes to sauce pan).
7. Top each dish with clams and the rest of parsley and then serve.