it's been six days with no recipe posts? ya'll must be starved!
i made "linguini con vongole" last night. or is that vognole. i don't know. it's spaghetti with clams to me. actually, spaghetti RIGATI, which means it got little ribs along it, all the better to catch the sauce. i made it a little differently from my usual "recipe" with the addition of mushrooms.
SPAGHETTI with WHITE CLAM SAUCEhalf a box or a little more of spaghetti or linguini (a good italian dried pasta please!)
1 can of baby clams. SAVE the LIQUID.
some mushrooms (i used four large white ones)
1 small onion, or half a medium onion
fresh parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
fresh garlic, about 3-5 cloves
extra virgin olive oil
some dry white wine
a pat of butter
salt, pepper, chili flakes, tiny pinch dried oregano or basil
put a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. don't salt or add oil. rinse the parsley, shake to dry, remove the stems, and coarsely chop so you have 1/4 cup or more, set aside.
chop onion fine, slice mushrooms thin, crush garlic. sautee these in a large pan with olive oil. just enough to coat the pan i guess. don't let the garlic burn. no no no. sautee until onion is transparent. season with pepper, the dried herbs, and some chili flakes if you like it spicy, but just a tiny bit.
you can time all this so the pasta is almost done (extra al dente) when the sauce is almost done. okay, now that the water's boiling, add the pasta, stir.
then go back to the pan: add the liquid from the can of clams to the limp onions. add half the parsley. add the wine, about a half cup. simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
just as the pasta is reaching almost done, add the clams, a pat of butter (this is totally optional but i wanted to finish off the stick), stir well, check seasonings. add salt only if needed, as the clams are already somewhat salty. you probably don't need it.
drain the pasta lightly, never rinse, and add this to the pan with the sauce, over low heat. add more parsley, and toss well. the noodles will continue to cook and absorb the liquid. if it's a bit dry, add some pasta water (not wine! haha). after a couple of minutes, check to see if the pasta is done. remove from heat, sprinkle a little more fresh parsley on top, drizzle with an extra good virgin olive oil, if you want.
this serves two very well... if you like clams.
one day i'll try this with fresh, but until then, long live the can~!
you can add a tiny bit of cheese, but i read that in italy you're not supposed to add cheese to seafood pastas. oh well -- i sprinkle on finely grated romano or mizithra or parmesan. served with a simple salad, and perhaps a good hot crusty bread, this is a super less-than-30-minute meal.
