Simple Pasta With Clam Sauce

For some reason people get intimidated by the idea of making this, what is actually a very simple dish. I think that people have this notion that if it's seafood, it's difficult to execute, which can be true, but not in this case. You can of course, also go with all fresh ingredients, but it's also easy to keep the ingredients on hand for the version I made tonight.

We'll start out with some well-chopped onion, a handful or two, toss that into a frying pan with some olive oil. I used a vidalia, but a white or yellow onion would be fine, even a red onion might be nice. Get them softened up and browned a bit.

Now we're gonna crank open a little can of anchovies. I usually get flat fillets but accidentally picked up rolled fillet wrapped around capers. No biggie, worked fine. In fact, capers are called for in many other folks' versions of this dish. Some people have a textural issue with anchovy fillet though. There are teeny little bones that pretty much liquify in the pan anyway, but you might prefer some anchovy paste instead. If not though, get the anchovy broken up well and mixed in with the oil and onions. Use the olive oil from the can of anchovy too. Pour it all right in there.

Now we're gonna add butter. I cut a big hunk off from a brick, maybe about a stick, stick and a half of butter. Sounds like a lot, but don't let your heart stop just be reading that. Butter is not as unhealthy as you think, and a lot more healthy than the substitute oils they use in the canned versions of clam sauce. It's also probably less butter per serving than a prepared box of mac and powdered cheese. But if you're still really health conscious, just pour in a generous amount of more olive oil. I prefer the butter taste with the clams, but it's not uncommon to make this dish with no butter at, just olive oil. But in that case you should probably go with a higher quality olive oil than the middle of the road stuff I keep in my kitchen.

With the butter melted down, toss in a tablespoonful or two of chopped garlic. Fresh is fine, but I just keep a big jar of the pre-chopped stuff in my fridge. Keep right on stirring. We don't want anything to stick or burn. By now too, the last bits of anchovy should be well incorporated giving a brown hue to the sauce.

Clams. Gotta have the clams of course. Just about every recipe I have ever read for this call for a bottle of clam juice too. I say that's a waste of money. Just use the juice right from your cans of clams. That's right, DON'T drain that juice off into the sink like you would with a can of tuna. Pour the clams into the pan right along with all the juice. I only had two cans, which might have been enough, but was happy to find a third. A fourth wouldn't have been wasted either, but the three was enough.

Now some seasoning. I used a generous amount of parsley, some basil, a bit of oregano, and a quick shake of hot red pepper in descending order. Some folks might like to add some lemon zest and/or a good shot of white wine here, but I didn't have either on hand and it turned out fine.

Let all of that boil away for a few minutes, but we don't want to reduce the sauce too much because we are going to finish cooking it right in with the pasta. Cook your pasta to just a tad underdone for your preference, then drain. I like my pasta a little softer, to I cooked to al dente and poured it into the colander. Tonight I used fettuccine, which I actually prefer over the traditional linguine with clam sauce. A long cut is generally preferred though over something like elbows or twists. Throw a little of your clam sauce into the bottom of the pot, throw your hot pasta back in, top that with the rest of your sauce. Cook on lowered heat to let all that clam-juicy sauce soak into the pasta a little. Letting it sit for a few minutes even after you have killed the heat helps too. My second serving was actually a bit more tasty, lol.

Plate in your favorite pasta dish and sprinkle with some grated Romano-Parmesan. Simple as that, dinner is served. A green leafy salad and some nice garlic bread are always great accompaniments to just about any pasta meal.

Here's your grocery list: Box of pasta, three cans of clams, small onion, garlic, one flat tin of anchovy fillets, olive oil, butter. If you don't have herbs and spices at home, get some parsley at least, maybe some basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, or whatever herbs and spices you might prefer. I might try a little tarragon next time myself.