Tybee Clam Pasta Recipes

SAUCY CLAM PASTA

Steps:

• In a large pot, cook spaghetti in salted water. Let it cook until just under al dente. Approximately 2 minutes short of the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. Once the pasta has been drained, coat in two tablespoons of olive oil to help prevent clumping.
• Meanwhile, in a small dutch oven, melt together butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, dried herbs, and chili flakes. Cook for about a minute or until the garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn.
• Add in white wine, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, and reduce by half, about five minutes.
• After, add in vegetable stock and pasta water. Bring to a boil, again, then add the clams. Lower the heat to a simmer, and put the lid on the dutch oven. Let the clams cook until they open, about 10 minutes.
• Once the clams have opened up, remove from the sauce, placing them onto a separate plate. Throw away any clams that have remained closed.
• Add lemon zest, juice, parsley, spaghetti, and heavy cream (if using), and a large helping of shaved parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper. Let simmer until the pasta is al dente. Season with salt if needed.
• Plate the spaghetti and clams, then ladle the sauce over it. Serve with crusty bread.

MARK BITTMAN'S PASTA WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• Steam the clams in a covered pot (a glass top is very nice, voyeuristically speaking). You don't need any liquid other than what the clams will release. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
• After the clams open - it could take as little as 10 minutes - uncover and cool. Take the meat out and strain and reserve the liquid; make sure to leave any sand behind. Chop the clams if they're big.
• Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water. Put 1/4 cup olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the clams and continue to cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add about 1/2 cup of the reserved clam liquid.
• Drain the pasta when it's nearly done and stir it into the clams. Cook, stirring, until the pasta is tender and the mixture is saucy. Add more clam-cooking liquid (or hot water or white wine), if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a little more oil if you like. Garnish, and serve.

SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta, stirring constantly in the beginning to prevent it from sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. When almost smoking, add shallots and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the clams and wine. Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until most clams have opened.
• Add 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Whisk in butter to thicken sauce slightly.
• Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water - this will remove the pasta's natural starches. Place pasta into the clam saute pan and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning.
• Pour pasta into large serving bowl. Zest lemon over the dish, being carefull not to zest the white part of the lemon, which is bitter. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

ONE-POT CLAM SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Place the spaghetti, clams with their juices, olive oil, oregano leaves, crushed red pepper, garlic, onion and a good pinch of salt in a large high-sided skillet. Add 4 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring and turning the pasta frequently with tongs, until the spaghetti is al dente and most of the liquid has evaporated and thickened, 9 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the spinach, Parmesan and butter. Toss to make sure everything is well coated and combined. Season to taste with black pepper and more salt if needed. Serve, garnished with more oregano leaves and crushed red pepper flakes.

SPAGHETTI WITH CANNED CLAMS

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs, granulated garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toast the breadcrumbs, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.
• Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and season generously with salt. Add the spaghetti and cook to al dente, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large saute pan or skillet, add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil along with the garlic and red pepper flakes. Turn the heat on low and let cook until fragrant, for a few minutes. Stir in the wine and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the clams, then turn up the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Use tongs to take the pasta out of the water directly into the pan (this works best when the pasta is a couple minutes away from being done; you want it really al dente so it finishes cooking in the sauce). Use tongs to toss. If dry, add a little pasta water. Add the parsley. Toss until coated in the sauce and the pasta is tender. Serve with the toasted breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

CREAMY CAMPFIRE CLAM PASTA WITH TOMATOES

Steps:

• Mix together the parsley, red pepper flakes, garlic, butter, lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Transfer to a small plastic storage container with a lid and freeze until ready to use. (Pack the frozen butter in your cooler, it will help cool your food.)
• Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute. Add the breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until golden and toasted, about 4 minutes. Can be made a day ahead, pack in a small plastic re-sealable bag.
• (Make sure to pack all of the other ingredients and equipment.)
• Build a medium-high campfire that has a grate for cooking.
• When ready to cook, combine the tomatoes, clams and 1 1/2 cups water in a large saucepan, on the grate, directly over the fire and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling sauce and stir to coat. Bring back to a boil for 30 seconds then remove from the heat and cover with a lid, let sit for 3 minutes. Uncover and stir in the butter (which will have thawed in the cooler) and the juice of the zested lemon.
• Divide among 4 bowls and top with breadcrumbs.

SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, soak clams in cold water.
• Add spaghetti to boiling water, and cook until slightly underdone; pasta will finish cooking in sauce. Meanwhile, place a large saucepan over medium-low heat, and add olive oil, garlic and chili pepper. Sauté gently, reducing heat if necessary so garlic does not brown.
• Add vermouth and clams, and cover. Clams should open in about 2 minutes. (If pasta is ready first, drain it and toss with a small amount of olive oil.) Add hot drained pasta, cover, and shake pot gently. Allow to simmer for another 1 or 2 minutes until it is done to taste.
• Discard any clams that have not opened. Add half the parsley, and shake pan to distribute evenly. Transfer to a plate or bowl, and sprinkle with remaining parsley.

PASTA WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté pancetta, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in clams, clam juice, wine, and chiles and boil, covered, until clams open, about 4 to 5 minutes (discard any clams that do not open after 6 minutes). If using whole chiles, remove with a slotted spoon and discard.
• While clams are cooking, cook pasta in a 6-quart pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Drain in a colander, then add to clams and simmer, stirring, 30 seconds.
• Toss pasta with parsley and drizzle with remaining 5 tablespoons oil.

CLAM LINGUINE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine olive oil, butter, garlic, tomatoes and parsley; simmer and let reduce. Add some clam juice if the sauce reduces too much.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 3 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Add clams to the skillet and heat through; top with cheese and serve immediately.

SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt generously. Add spaghetti, and cook until slightly underdone, about 7 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chile pepper; cook until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add clams and white wine, and raise heat to high. Bring to a boil; cover, and cook, shaking occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, until clams open. Stir in parsley. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
• Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add reserved pasta water and lemon juice; reduce until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter. Add clam mixture and spaghetti. Cook over medium-low heat until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; garnish with parsley.

LINGUINE WITH HERBED CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Drain baby and minced clams, reserving juice; set clams and juice aside. In a large skillet, saute onion in oil and butter until tender. Add parsley and garlic; saute for 2 minutes. , Add drained clams; saute 2 minutes longer. , Combine cornstarch and clam juice until smooth; stir into skillet with wine or broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the basil, pepper and cayenne. Serve sauce over linguine; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

SPAGHETTI AND CLAMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add clams, stirring frequently for 3 minutes, or until clams are lightly browned. Stir in parsley, olive oil, and reserved clam juice mixed with enough water to equal 2 cups liquid.
• Increase heat and bring to a low boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.