linguine with clam sauce

Fresh clams, cooked with a little white wine, garlic, and onion, create a classic pasta sauce that will wow you with its complex flavor. Don’t be put off by the idea of buying and cooking fresh clams. It’s really quite foolproof and actually kind of fun. A note on timing: Ideally, you want the hot pasta and just-opened clams to be done at about the same time, so check the pasta package for its suggested cooking time and calculate accordingly. It’s fine if the pasta is done a few minutes before the clams, because you can reheat it a bit when you add it to the clams and sauce.

Salt for the pasta water

½ pound linguine or spaghetti

3 tablespoons olive oil (plus a little extra for the hot pasta)

½ cup minced onion

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 good-sized cloves)

Big pinch of red pepper flakes (plus extra to pass at the table)

¾ cup dry white wine

2 pounds fresh littleneck or Manila clams (in the shell)

1 tablespoon butter

A handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Put a large pot of cold water to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in the sink. When the water boils, add the linguine, keeping the heat high. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting the pasta toward the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When it is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not yet mushy, dump the water-plus-pasta into the colander. Shake to mostly drain (it’s okay to leave some water clinging), and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Leave it in place—you’ll need it in just a few minutes.

2. While the pasta is cooking, place a soup pot or a Dutch oven (something large and deep with a lid at the ready) over medium heat. Let this pot heat for a minute, then add the 3 tablespoons oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the onion and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion softens.

3. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes, then pour in the white wine, and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until the wine cooks down to about half of its original volume. (This allows some of the wine, plus some of its alcohol, to evaporate, concentrating the flavors.)

4. Add the clams, cover, and cook, shaking the pot occasionally, for 3 minutes without opening the lid. After this amount of time, take a look to see if the clams have opened. If some are still unopened, give the pot a shake, cover the pot again, and cook for another minute or so, until all of the clams open. (Discard any that fail to open.) With the pot still over the heat, add the cooked linguine and toss for about 30 seconds to mix well.

5. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter, sprinkle in the parsley, grind in some black pepper, and toss again.

6. Serve right away, using tongs to put some linguine in each bowl, and then topping with some of the clams. Be sure to include some of the liquid at the bottom of the pot in each serving. Pass the pepper mill and a shaker of red pepper flakes.

KEEPING CLAMS

Buy your clams (or any shellfish) from a store with a high turnover so you can be sure they’re as fresh as possible. Don’t leave them in a closed plastic bag once you get them home. Instead, pour them into a bowl, cover them with a damp cloth, and put them in the refrigerator, where they’ll keep for a day or two. Just before cooking, rinse the clams and scrub them with a vegetable brush under cold running water to clean them.

GET CREATIVE

• Drizzle each serving with a bit of high-quality olive oil at the table.
• Add about a dozen cherry tomatoes along with the onion. They’ll burst during cooking, creating a light tomato-clam sauce. Or add a few squirts from a tube of tomato paste along with the onion.
• Add a tablespoon of minced fresh oregano or thyme (or a teaspoon of dried oregano or thyme) along with the onion.
• Sauté some breadcrumbs in a skillet with a little olive oil, minced garlic, and minced parsley; sprinkle over each serving as a garnish.