|
|
 |
|
 Return to Recipes Corner |
 |
 Printer Friendly Page |
|
|
| Recipe created by: Chris Cluck |
|
Linguine with white clam sauce is one of the most famous of all
pasta dishes. And, like most popular dishes, there are hundreds
of different recipes and regional variations. But the one thing
they all have in common is that they use lots of oil-usually
anywhere from 1/2 to 1 cup per pound of pasta. In this recipe,
the oil has been drastically reduced-without sacrificing flavor.
This is accomplished in part by allowing the pasta to absorb
some of the clam broth, and by using large quantities of garlic.
(See Tips below.) The result is a light, aromatic, brothy
sauce-also perfect for dipping crusty bread!
|
|
|
| 3 (6.5 oz.) cans chopped (NOT minced!) clams |
| 1 (8 oz.) bottle clam juice |
| 1 - 1 1/2 cups dry white wine |
| 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil |
| 20 cloves garlic, minced (see Tips below) |
| 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes |
| 1 cup Italian parsley, minced |
|
|
|
| 1. |
Partially open cans of clams and slowly pour clam juice inside
through a fine strainer into a quart measuring container, being
careful to leave any sand or grit behind.
|
|
| 2. |
Fully open cans, rinse drained clams and reserve.
|
|
| 3. |
To the strained clam juice in the quart container, add all
of the bottled clam juice and enough wine to make 3 1/2 cups total
liquid.
|
|
|
|
|
| 1. |
Heat olive oil over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add garlic
and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is light golden,
about 2 minutes.
|
|
| 2. |
Add reserved clam juice/wine mixture and parsley. Increase
heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes uncovered. Add reserved
clams. When broth comes back to a simmer, immediately cover
and turn off heat.
|
|
| 3. |
Simultaneously, while pasta cooks, bring sauce to a simmer over medium
heat. Add scallops and cook 2-3 minutes, or until they turn from
translucent to opaque. Do not overcook!
|
|
| 4. |
Meanwhile, cook pasta in plenty of rapidly boiling salted
water until3/4 cooked. (See Tips below.) Drain and place in a
large, pre-heated, shallow serving bowl. Immediately add clam
sauce and toss gently. Tightly seal bowl with plastic wrap
and wait 10 minutes, or until the pasta absorbs much of the
liquid. Serve in shallow soup bowls with lots of crusty bread
on the side for dipping into the broth. Parmesan is optional.
(See Tips below.)
|
|
|
| Sauvignon Blanc | Crisp, dry, light to medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc |
|
|
|
(per serving) |
| 8 oz. |
| 385 |
| 17.7% |
| 7.0 g |
| 0.9 g |
| 3 g |
| 213 mg |
| 62 g |
| 2.4 g |
| 12 g |
| |
|
|
This recipe is one of the few exceptions to the "cook until al dente
and serve immediately" rule. (See Triple Tequila Chicken with Linguine
for another.)
|
|
Because the sauce is brothy, the pasta will take on much more flavor
if you allow it to absorb some of the sauce before serving. Of course,
if you allow fully cooked pasta to absorb more liquid, it will become
mushy and overcooked.
Consequently, it is very important to undercook the pasta by a few minutes.
The easiest way to determine when to stop cooking it is to bite into a strand.
The very center should still be a little hard.
As a reference point
(although you should never time pasta), if the package indicates an 11 minute
cooking time, you'll probably only need to cook it for 7-8 minutes.
|
|
The seemingly excessive amounts of garlic mellow tremendously when simmered
in the wine and clam juice. While the typical white clam sauce recipe uses
much less garlic, it also uses much more oil. This is because oil
(which picks up the essence of whatever it contacts) acts as an efficient
flavor "transporter." Consequently, when using less oil, the ingredients
need to be "amped," or increased to compensate. Parmesan cheese is
optional for this recipe. Traditionally it is rarely used in seafood
pasta dishes, and most purists will scoff at the very idea; however,
I and many people (including the late James Beard!), like a little
Parmesan in this application because its saltiness and slight fat
content helps bring out more flavor. Try it both ways to see which you
prefer. You can add up to 1 tablespoon of Parmesan per serving and
still stay within 20% of calories from fat.
|
|
|
|
| Return to Recipes Corner |
|
|
