By Eileen Goldfinger, Food Editor @Blogfinger.net

 

Sauce :

 

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 28 ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes

1 24 ounce jar marinara sauce

1 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup salt-free chicken broth or clam broth

1 6 1/2 ounce can chopped clams, drained

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

 

In a 5 quart Dutch oven heat oil on medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until onion wilts. Add garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Add whole tomatoes and mash them in the pot. Add the remaining ingredients, except the parsley. Stir and simmer for 30 minutes. Leave on low heat until the pasta and clams are cooked and the dish is ready to be assembled.

Sprinkle parsley on sauce when ready to serve.

Cook pasta according to package instructions, 1/4 pound per person. (Cook the pasta and the clams at the same time because they both take approx. 10-12 minutes to cook)

 

Clams:

2 pounds little neck clams (We got ours at Wegmans; sold in two pound bags)

Clean clams: (This step can be done while the sauce is cooking.)

Fill a large bowl with cool water, 1/4 cup of ground corn meal. Stir. Place clams in the water (the water should cover the clams) and let them sit for 1 hour. This step causes the clams to disgorge any sand they may have ingested. Discard any clams that are cracked or don’t close. If a clam is open, tap it gently on the counter top—- if it doesn’t close, discard it.

Remove clams from bowl by lifting them up out of the water so that any sand in the bowl stays at the bottom.   Place clams in a colander and rinse them with cool water.

Check again to see if any are cracked or open.

 

Steam clams:

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot or small onion, minced

1 cup salt-free chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine or clam broth

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

In a 5 quart pot with a cover, heat oil on medium. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add clams and cover the pot. After 5 minutes shake the pot so the clams cook more evenly. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the clams open. Remove the pot from the heat.

 

Assembling the dish:

Place a 1/2 cup of sauce at the bottom of a wide individual pasta bowl.   Next put 1/4 pound pasta (linguine) on the sauce. Place 1 pound (or half) the cooked clams on the pasta. Then ladle more sauce on top of the clams. Serve with ciabatta bread.

Repeat for the 2nd serving.

Serves 2.

A Caprese salad would go very well this dish.  Below is a link for a caprese salad and a song by Frank Sinatra about the Isle of Capri.  For variety  you can add sliced avocado on top.

Caprese salad recipe

 

SERGIO FRANCHI