Linguine alle Vongole {Linguine with Clams}

Pasta is my kryptonite.

It’s not just devouring it — I also love cooking pasta dishes, too!

My vice is way too accessible.

So you can see the predicament I am constantly in.

But not all pastas need to be heavy or sauce laden.

In fact, one of my favorites is Linguine alle Vongole – long strands of pasta with clams in a white wine sauce.

YES PLEASE!

It’s really quite simple with just a handful of ingredients that are probably (besides the clams) are already hanging out in your pantry.

As for those clams:

• Triple check with your fish dude/dudette that they are fresh.
• Take the time to ensure that you soak and clean them. Biting into sandy clams is NO BUENO!
• Toss away any clams that do not open after you’ve cooked them because that means they’re D-E-D!  (Nope, not a typo. “DED” is “DEAD”…but wayyyyyy more.)
  

After you’ve done that, just infuse some olive oil with lots of garlic and red pepper flakes…..

throw in some white wine and your cleaned clams….

pop a lid on and wait until those molluscs open up!

Then it’s just a matter of tossing in the cooked linguine, butter (for a bit of added lusciousness), lemon and parsley.

And then get ready to do a Happy Dance in your kitchen because your tummy will be so appreciative of you!

Buon Appetito!

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Linguine alle Vongole {Linguine with Clams}
Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound clams (Manila clams, cockles, littlenecks), scrubbed and cleaned*
1/3 cup white wine
kosher salt
5 ounces dried linguine, or other long strand pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
½ cup chopped parsley

Heat the olive oil over low heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 5-6 minutes to infuse the oil. Swirl the skillet often to ensure that the garlic does not burn. Add the red pepper flakes and infuse for another minute.

Raise the heat to medium and allow the garlic and pepper flakes to cook for an additional 15-20 seconds. Add the clams to the skillet and pour in the wine. Once the liquids begin to bubble, place a cover over the skillet and allow the clams to steam open – approximately 5-8 minutes depending on their size.

While the clams cook, add salt to a pot of boiling water. Add the dried linguine and cook to just shy of al dente. (Note: If your pasta is not done by the time your clams have cooked through, turn off the heat on the skillet and keep it covered until the pasta is ready. Turn the heat back up to medium once you add the pasta.)

When your pasta is done check your clams and discard any that have not opened yet. Add the pasta directly into the skillet with the clams, tossing to coat. Add the butter and continue stirring/tossing until it has fully incorporated. If the pasta appears slightly dry, add ½ – 1 ladle of the pasta cooking water, continuously stirring to emulsify the sauce. Toss in the lemon juice, zest and chopped parsley. Plate the pasta and serve immediately.

*Rinse and scrub the clam shells with a small brush. Place the scrubbed clams in a dish and submerge with cool water. Place the dish in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Rinse the clams and change out the cool water every 20 minutes for an hour. If you still see sand/grit at the bottom of the dish at the end of an hour, repeat the soaking process for another 20-40 minutes.