Take this Italian restaurant favorite home with you. This deliciously easy dish embraces the perfect salinity of the majestic clam.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Pasta, Shellfish
Servings: 2People
Author: Angie
Ingredients
2lbsClamsWe used Venus which have a high salt content, If you use a different kind you should add salt
2TbspOlive OilOr however much you need to coat the bottom of your pot
1tspChili Flakes
5ShallotsSmall to Medium
1headGarlicRoughly 8 cloves
.5lbsLinguine Pasta
1CupDry White WineSomething good enough you would want to drink
1/3CupChopped Parsley
.5tspLemon Zest
1TbspButter
Instructions
Inspect clams to determine if there is any damage to them, or if any have opened. If you find an open one, gently tap on the shell to see if it closes, or press it closed and see if it reopens. If it does not close throw it out.
In a bowl, rinse clams four times in cold water. Let sit in filtered for 10-15 minutes in the event the clams need to expel their remaining sand. Throw out sandy water, and re-rinse.
Chop garlic and shallots into a fine dice. Wash and dry parsley. Chop and set aside.
Put pasta on to cook aiming for very al dente.
In a pot (we used a dutch oven), heat olive oil at medium and add chili flakes. When the flakes dance, add garlic and shallots. Gently saute until shallots are mostly translucent and garlic is fragrant, but not browned.
Add white wine to pot, stir, and gently place clams into wine sauce. Put on the lid.
Steam clams for five minutes. Then begin checking the pot to see if they have opened. If they have not opened yet give the pot a shake with the lid on. That generally encourages them to open.
Once clams have all opened, remove to plate, platter, or bowl, cover with foil to keep warm. If any remaining clams remain unopened, give them a couple more minutes in the pot. If they are still uncooperative, chuck into trash can.
Turn the heat up slightly on the sauce, and drop very al dente linguine with tongs into sauce. You want some starchy water to still hang onto the pasta. Add butter to sauce.
Toss pasta with butter and sauce using tongs. Add lemon zest to pan. Add half of your parsley, taste a strand for doneness. If done, proceed to plating pasta and adding clams.