Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

Rinse the verace clams thoroughly under cold running water.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the large frying pan over medium heat.

Add the crushed garlic and chili pepper to the oil.

Cook the garlic until lightly golden, about 1 minute.

Add the rinsed verace clams and 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water to the pan.

Cover the pan and cook until all clams open, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Discard any clams that remain closed after cooking.

Transfer the opened clams to a bowl and remove most shells.

Strain the clam liquid through the fine-mesh strainer into the clean frying pan.

Cook the linguine in the boiling water until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package instructions.

Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and drain the linguine.

Add the drained linguine to the strained clam liquid in the frying pan.

Toss the linguine until tender and glossy, adding reserved pasta cooking water as needed.

Fold in the shelled verace clams and chopped fresh parsley.

Add lemon zest and the remaining extra virgin olive oil.

Toss briefly and serve the linguine hot with fresh parsley.