This Clam Pasta is seriously delicious and so easy to make. It's a dish that transports you straight to the Italian coast with every bite. The beauty of this recipe is that it only requires a handful of ingredients, and you can have it on the table in under 30 minutes. It makes a great weeknight dinner if you are pushed for time, but it is perfect for date night or cooking for friends.
Dissolve the salt in the water and add the clams. Let them sit for 20 minutes to filter out any grit and sand.3 tablespoons salt6 cups/ 1l cold water2 lb/ 900g clams
If you find a lot of sand at the bottom of the bowl, you can repeat the process with a new batch of salty water.
Once the clams have been purged, let them soak in a bowl of cold, unsalted water to remove excess salt.
Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the packet suggests.1 tablespoon salt12 oz/ 340g linguine/spaghetti
Before draining the pasta, reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water.
While the pasta cooks, make the sauce.
Place a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the extra virgin olive oil and chopped shallots and cook for a minute.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 shallots
Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 30 seconds, and then pour the wine.5 cloves garlic¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes½ cup/ 125ml dry white wine
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the clam juice/fish stock, clams, and chopped parsley.½ cup/ 125ml clam juice/fish stock2 lb/ 900g clams3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley
Place a lid on the pan and cook for 6 minutes.
Remove the lid and stir everything together, cook for a further minute without the lid, and then discard any clams that haven't opened.
To finish the dish
Add the pasta to the clams, along with ¼ cup (60ml) of the reserved pasta cooking water. Toss the pasta with the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Most of the sauce will be absorbed into the pasta; you can add extra cooking water if it dries out too much.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice.3 tablespoons unsalted butter1 teaspoon lemon zest2 teaspoons lemon juice
Taste and salt and pepper to your preference. salt pepper
Serve immediately with extra parsley. fresh flat-leaf parsley
Notes
You can buy fresh clams in larger grocery stores; they will come in a mesh bag as they are still alive. Most grocery stores sell farm-raised clams, which are usually quite clean, but I like to purge them to be sure, as a gritty clam can ruin the whole dish. (How to do this is in the recipe card)
Use a dry white wine for this recipe. My choice would be a Soave, Vermentino, or Pinot Grigio. Choose something that you would drink rather than a poor-quality cooking wine. If you don't consume alcohol, you can use extra broth and lemon juice.
You can buy bottled clam juice in the tinned fish aisle of the grocery store. If it isn't available, use a good-quality fish stock instead.
Zest the lemon before you cut and juice it. It is almost impossible to zest a cut and juiced lemon.