Linguini with White Clam Sauce

The perfect seafood pasta

This is a very simple dish to make and relatively inexpensive as a weeknight meal in the order of seafood dishes. The key here is developing a nicely flavored olive oil and seafood broth laden with sweet toasted garlic, fresh herbs and a white wine clam sauce. The opportunites to improvise here are when adding the clams, you can add any seafood or shellfish you’d like. If you want to use fresh clams in the shells, add at that point; fresh mussels, shrimp, lobster, finfish - same strategy. As always, this is a recipe/foundation upon which you can build your own flavors.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chopped clams (canned is fine)

optional - 1 lb mixed frozen seafood (calamari, scallops, shrimp - any mix).

1 box linguini

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup minced/chopped garlic (roughly one full head)

2 anchovy filet minced

1 cup white wine

2 cups clam juice

1/2 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

4 tablespoons chopped capers

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons whole butter

6 oz smoked salmon chopped

This step is key, toasting the garlic. Too brown and it’s bitter, too raw and the flavor is astringent. You want that perfect golden brown garlic seeping into the olive oil. To make it easier and cook the garlic throughout, you will start the garlic in cold oil and slowly bring up to heat and color.

Instructions:

1. Place a pot on the stove to par-cook the pasta. You will want to cook it until it’s just a touch undercooked, extra al dente. It will continue cooking while in the sauce.

2. While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil to a large saute pan or Dutch oven. Place the garlic in the pan while the oil is still cold and bring up to medium heat.

3. Pay close attention when the garlic begins to simmer, it will turn from golden brown to brunt very quickly. Allow it to simmer until it begins to get golden and then add the anchovy and simmer for another 30 seconds, then add the clams (or any other seafood you would like to use). Saute the clams and garlic mix for another 2 minutes, then add the wine. Allow the wine mix to reduce for about 3-4 minutes. NOTE: If the pasta isn’t cooked yet, you can pause the sauce and finish the pasta so it’s ready to add to the sauce. If it finishes early, just strain and run cold water over the pasta so it stops cooking.

4. Once the wine is reduced add the clam juice and reduce it a touch more. At this point, you can add your par-cooked pasta to the mix as you will want some of the starch to cook into the sauce. Make sure you don’t mix the pasta too aggressively so the pasta doesn’t break. All the mix to simmer for another 2 minutes.

5. Add the capers, smoked salmon, parsley, salt, vinegar, fresh cracked pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and butter to the pan and swirl together over low heat. Taste a noodle at this point and make sure the seasoning is on point. Then plate the pasta by swirling the noodles into a bowl and pouring the sauce over the pasta. Finish with fresh lemon zest and lemon juice, top with fresh parmesan as well, and serve immediately.