Nduja is one of my most treasured ingredients. It was first given to me by the Calabrian chef Francesco Mazzei, who introduced Londoners to the powerful, spicy flavours of Southern Italian cooking when he opened his brilliant restaurant L’Anima in the City. Nduja is a soft, spreadable, incredibly spicy Calabrian cured pork sausage that brings an instant hot, savoury depth to any dish. Here it adds oomph to my favourite Italian pasta dish of spaghetti vongole. I love the way it contrasts with the sweet, juicy clams, and seasons the dish with fiery chillies. I’ve used squid ink spaghetti because I’m a sucker for its added umami and dramatic darkness, but you could also use plain spaghetti or store-bought squid ink pasta. If you’ve made bottarga butter, you could stir a knob of it through the pasta before serving for some extra boom!