Ingredients
Serves 6-8

  • 1 ½ lbs small clams
  • Sea Salt, coarsely ground
  • 1 Lemon
  • ¾ cup Olive Oil, extra virgin
  • 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • ½ cup White Wine, dry
  • 1 lb Pasta, Vermicelli
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste
  • 20 sprigs Parsley, fresh, stems removed, chopped
  • ½ tsp. Oregano, dried and crushed.
  • Grated Parmesan (optional)

If clams are not your favorite shellfish, try this dish using shrimp and/or fish fillets of your choice instead. If you do, you need to add liquid (such as the pasta water, white wine, or a light broth) because you won’t have the benefit of clam juice.

Cook’s Tips: No fresh clams? Choose the canned variety. You’ll need 2 to 4 7-oz jars in clam juice. Use the liquid in the cans for your sauce.

Directions:

  1. Soak clams in cold water which contains 1 Tbsp. Sea salt and the juice of the lemon. While they are soaking, cook the pasta.
  2. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water according to package directions. When cooked al dente, strain, reserving the liquid, add a little bit of olive oil (about 1 Tbsp.) and set aside.
  3. Rinse the clams under cold running water.
  4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add garlic and cook just until fragrant. Add the wine. Raise the temperature to high, add the clams, and cover. Cook for 2 minutes being sure to shake the skillet often.
  5. Season the clams with salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano. All the clams should be opened at this point. Throw out any clams that are still closed.
  6. Cover skillet and simmer for 4 minutes, stirring often.
  7. Add pasta to the skillet, mix well to coat pasta with the liquid. If needed, add additional pasta water to reach the consistency you prefer.

To serve: Pour pasta into a serving bowl, garnish with parsley and top with shredded parmesan (optional)

 

 

 

Photo attribution:

flickr.com/photos/naotakem/5112809197/