Feast of the Seven Fishes Part III: Linguine With Clams
This course represents the fourth fish in our seven-course feast, but it's easy enough to make it a weekday staple. You only need a few ingredients to make this, and it takes less than ten minutes (or even less if you are using fresh pasta) to make. The clams make it feel luxurious, but they are actually pretty inexpensive. You can get them at the seafood counter for less than a dollar each. Market price on them for this meal was 67 cents each.
FRESH LINGUINE PREP
Homemade fresh pasta really is easy and worth the effort.
I make almost all of my pasta fresh. I particularly enjoy fresh pasta on this recipe because the semolina in the fresh pasta grabs the sauce and holds it so you are consuming fully-coated noodles in every bite. You won't have any sauce left in the bowl when you're done.
Ingredients:
Linguine to serve four people, either dry or homemade. To use my homemade pasta recipe, go to our original pasta post here.
1 lb clams, cleaned and rinsed
1/2 bottle white wine of your choosing
1/4 stick butter
1-2 lemon wedges
Parsley (optional) for garnish
To Make:
If you're making pasta from the dry version, you'll want to wait for the water to boil before adding the clams to the other pan. I normally separate all the directions out into sections (sauce, pasta, etc.), but everything comes together so quickly on this, you really need these directions in full chronological order.
Heat the largest pot of water you can on high - the more space in the pot, the more evenly the pasta will cook. Add a healthy dose of salt - it should be a tad less salty than the ocean.
If you are using fresh pasta, now is the time to pour the white wine in a shallow pan and add the clams. Turn heat to high.
When the water boils, drop all the linguini in. If you're cooking from dry, set a timer following package directions for al dente (depending on their pasta recipe, it could take longer or shorter than other dried pastas).
If you are using fresh pasta, drop in the boiling water and set a timer for three minutes.
While pasta is cooking, use tongs to remove clams one by one when they are cooked through. You'll know they are done when the shells have fully opened and the clam has lost its opaqueness. Set aside in a bowl.
Once all clams are cooked and set aside, add butter, then remove pasta and add to the butter and white wine. Toss to coat, then add the clams to finish in the sauce.
Just before plating, squeeze the lemon juice over the full pan, and toss to mix.
To plate, add the pasta first, then section out the clams in equal portions on each plate. Add a dash of salt and parsley.
That's it! This meals feels fancy even if it isn't, so feel free to splurge by adding a sparkling water with lemon wedge or an icy pinot grigio. A little bread never hurt anyone, either.
This is a small plate I used for the actual feast - the recipe makes much more than this, but it gives you an idea of what the dish should look like when finished.
Bon Appetit!