I actually had a low key Friday evening to myself for the first time in a looooong time. No frantic Christmas shopping, no holiday parties, no family dinners, just me, Moo Shu, a slew of Monk reruns on DVR, and a big bag of clams in the fridge. I cooked up some spaghetti with clams, a quick and easy standby, perfect for when I want to cook without thinking. It came out better than ever.
I suppose my whole not-caring-much nonchalance added that little bit of magic needed to raise the dish to a new level. Like that guy that only likes the girls who play hard to get…maybe.
Spaghetti with Clams
Serves 2-3.
3/4 lb. spaghetti (linguine or angel hair would work too)
18 littleneck clams, rinsed and scrubbed (cockles and cherry stones work well too, just be aware of the change in cooking time as cockles are much smaller than littlenecks and cherry stones are larger)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs. parsley, chopped
2 tsp. lemon zest
4 ½ tbs. lemon juice
2 tbs. unsalted butter
3 ½ tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 pinches red chili flakes
Salt and pepper
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Heat a deep sautee pan over a medium high heat. Add 1 tbs. of the butter into the pan along with 1 tb. of olive oil.
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After the butter has melted and the oil has heated (about 2 minutes), put the garlic in the pan and sautee it for about 1 minute or until cooked and lightly brown. Add the red chili flakes.
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Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package in a pot of boiling, well salted water. A few seconds before you drain the pasta, carefully reserve 3/4 cup of the water. Set aside for later.
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At this point, add the clams and 1 tbs. of lemon juice to the pan. Stir the clams around and lower the heat to low. Cover the pan and allow the clams to steam open. This should take approximately 9 minutes. Check back after the first 7 minutes though, just to make sure you don’t end up over cooking them and making them rubbery.
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Once the clams are cooked, check the clams for any that are unopen. Now don’t go nuts and start tossing half the clams out if they aren’t open. They’re probably just not done cooking yet. They won’t all cook at exactly the same second. If you see a bunch (more than 4) unopened, give them another minute. You may wind up with no unopen clams at the end or there may be one or two. These are the ones that were dead to begin with. Do not, I REPEAT, do not pry them open, you little cheapskate. Let them go. Toss them. Your digestive tract will thank you.
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Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan. Stir it all rigorously to mix the sauce, clams, and pasta. Turn off the heat.
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At this point, add the 3 remaining tbs. of lemon juice, the lemon zest, cracked black pepper, 1/2 cup of the reserved water, the other 1 tbs. of butter, the other 2 ½ tbs. of olive oil, and about 2 tsp. (like two really big pinches) salt. Toss the pasta once more. The strands should be glossy from the sauce, but there shouldn’t be so much liquid that it completely floods the bottom of the pan. There should just be a thin film of it on the bottom (see photo below). Taste the pasta for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or chili flakes if necessary.
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Garnish with parsley and serve with a small bowl for the clam shells.
See that? Just a wee bit of sauce at the bottom with the strands all glossy and ready for their closeup
8 responses so far ↓
Wanda // January 6, 2008 at 6:09 am
We just love clams and pasta. Great recipe.
When we were in NY Paula and I went to The Red Lobster. I know a lot of NY’s dis the place, but we were suitably impressed with the garlic prawns, clams and pasta they served.
Nothing quite like home made though.
Cookware To Make Steaming Open Your Lobster and Clams Easy : Only Cookware Blog - Cookware Reviews, Discount Coupons, Guides // January 6, 2008 at 7:16 pm
[...] Spaghetti and clams on After Taste (by Sherry) Clams Antipasto Supreme on Gourmet Clam Lobster Risotto with white wine, mustard and passionfruit on We Love Seafood Mussels Provencal on Mackay Fish Market [...]
Pri // January 10, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Hey Sher,
My sister makes linguini with clam sauce using canned clams sometimes. Could you use those in your recipe without compromising flavor and freshness? I don’t even know where I could find 18 clams!
aftertastesherry // January 10, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I’ve used jarred clams before, jarred in their own juices only of course. I like jarred over canned because I’m always afraid of how the clam juice will interact with the tin. I always make sure to look at the list of ingredients too to make sure there aren’t any funky chemicals. The flavor will definitely be different. They’ll usually be smaller, a little more dried out, and they’ll have a certain unnatural tang due to the citric acid they often put in to keep it fresh. They’ll do in a pinch of course, but fresh clams are in a league of their own. You should really try them. Fresh clams are super easy to find. Large supermarkets with seafood sections would have them. Also, Whole Foods, any seafood shop, or gourmet shops like citarella or dean and deluca would have them. If you do decide to use jarred clams, make sure to not to overcook them, they won’t take as long as fresh clams.
Psychgrad // January 12, 2008 at 12:59 am
Looks good! Making clams is on my list of new foods to attempt. Found you on the foodie forum.
caireen // January 19, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hi! I have a jar of clams and would like to cook Vongole, but I am unclear as to whether jarred clams have been cooked already or do I need to cook them, and if some of the clams in the jar are open already, is it still ok to eat them. Confused from London! Thanks
aftertastesherry // January 19, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Hi Caireen-
There are only two options for clams in a jar: 1) alive or 2) cooked, and obviously the clams can’t stay alive locked in an airtight jar, so they must be cooked. Clams with shells closed are either alive (and purposely have closed themselves up) or were dead before they were cooked, meaning you shouldn’t eat them because God knows how long they were dead before being cooked. Clams with shells open mean they’re either cooked or alive and ready to “clam up”, close when disturbed/poked/touched/jostled/scared. So I’m confused as to how clams could be jarred with their shells, but if they are, they should be open and therefore cooked. Any closed ones, I would discard. I hope my answer was clear, having never encountered this type of product before. Generally, I would looked for clams jarred in their own juices without shells. Also, keep in mind, frozen shellfish is a totally different set of rules than jarred. Good luck with the cooking!
caireen // January 20, 2008 at 5:31 am
Thanks so much for your advice. The jar of clams was from an Italian deli. Maybe they are not available in the US. Anyway, I managed to contact an Italian friend who explained that the jarred clams were indeed cooked and preserved. He gave me similar advice to you. Anyway, I cooked last night, (Vongole) and the clams were fantastic, and this morning we are all alive and well. Thanks for your help! Great website. Best, Caireen.
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