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1
Place a wide, heavy pan over high heat until smoking. Add the arselle in a single layer with no water, no oil, and no lid. Let them open in the dry heat, releasing their liquor into the pan. Remove each clam as it opens; discard any that do not open. Strain the collected liquor through a fine-mesh sieve lined with muslin and reserve. The liquor should be clear and intensely saline — this is the primary flavouring liquid.
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2
In the same pan, warm two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the crushed cherry tomatoes and cook briefly until they collapse and the oil colours faintly pink. Add the strained clam liquor and bring to a gentle simmer.
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3
Add the fregola to the simmering tomato-clam liquor. This is where the dish lives or dies: cook the fregola risotto-style, adding warm water or stock in small ladlefuls as each addition is absorbed, stirring steadily. Never drown the pasta; never let it dry out. The fregola swells and absorbs liquid aggressively — maintain a loose, brothy consistency throughout. Continue for approximately 12–15 minutes, until the grains are al dente at the centre and the pan holds a visibly soupy, brodoso consistency.
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4
In the final 3–4 minutes of cooking, return the reserved clams to the pan and add the saffron dissolved in its warm water. Stir to distribute the saffron colour evenly through the broth. The clams need only to reheat through — prolonged heat renders them rubbery.
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5
Remove the pan from the heat. Drizzle the remaining raw olive oil over the surface and scatter the chopped flat-leaf parsley. The parsley must go on off-heat: the colour remains vivid green and the volatile aromatics are preserved. Rest for one minute before serving in deep bowls, ensuring each portion carries abundant broth.