Linguine and Clam Sauce

Try to buy farmed clams as much as possible, generally sold under various names: cockles, arc shells, Manila clam, short necked clam, hard clam, and grooved carpet shell clam. Avoid arctic surf clams because of major habitat and by-catch concerns. Read more about clam sustainability here.

• ¾ Lb linguine
• 4lbs live littleneck clams
• 4 medium tomatoes (seeded and chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (3 chopped, 1 still in its peel)
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup dry white wine (chardonnay)
• ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
• Kosher salt and Pepper

Clean clams well, discarding any opened ones (if they are open tap them, if they don’t close discard them). The most reliable way to get the clams free of sand is to soak them in cold salted water for a few hours and then rinse them well with fresh water; this will cause them to purge all of the sand out.

Place 3 Tbsp olive oil in a pot big enough for the clams to fit in with a lid. Heat over medium heat for about 1 min. Add the clams, lemon juice and the unpeeled garlic clove (not peeling the garlic clove will allow it to flavor the clams without turning brown and imparting a bitter burnt garlic taste to the sauce). Cook covered over medium heat stirring around every few minutes until all the clams have opened. There will be a substantial amount of clam juice in the pan after they are cooked, this will be the sauce so do not pour away. Remove the clams and set them aside to cool.

Discard and DO NOT EAT any unopened clams. Remove all of the meat from the clams and set aside, reserving 12 of the shells for decoration.

Strain the clam juice through a fine sieve to remove any shell fragments or sand (straining through a thin paper towel or cheese cloth is best but can be time consuming).

Begin cooking pasta in boiling salted water. In a large sauté pan heat 2 tbsp olive oil with the chopped garlic over medium heat until garlic is soft but not brown. Add wine and ¾ cup of the clam juice and sauté for about 4 min (until the alcohol smell is gone). Add tomatoes and a pinch or salt and a tsp of pepper and sauté for 2 min. then add the cream and sauté for 2 min more.

Put equal portions of pasta on four heated plates and top with equal portions of sauce. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top to add a fresh taste and place three of the shells on each plate for decoration. If you wish you may top with fresh grated parmesan cheese but the sauce should have enough flavor by itself.

Serves four.