Eileen’s steamed clams in spicy red sauce. Blogfinger photo © 2014.
By Eileen Goldfinger, Food Editor @Blogfinger.net Re-post.
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 (a garnish)
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano.
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 sauce on low heat while you prepare the pasta and the fresh clams.
See directions below for cooking the clams and assembling the dish.
Sprinkle parsley on sauce when ready to serve.
Cook pasta (I use linguine) 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:
1 50 ct bag little neck clams (We got ours at Wegmans.)
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. 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, heat oil on medium. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add clams and cover the pot, lowering the heat to medium-low. After 5 minutes shake the pot so the clams cook more evenly. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the clams open. As they begin to open, remove them from the pot and set them aside in a dish. The reason for removing the clams from the pot is so they don’t overcook and become tough.
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 on the sauce. Place half the cooked clams on the pasta. Then ladle more sauce on top of the clams. Sprinkle parsley on each assembled bowl.
Serve with ciabatta bread.
Repeat for the 2nd serving.
Serves 2.
SERGIO FRANCHI