Summer Italian Dinner—Linguine with Clams

Fresh, delightful, briny clams in a glorious white wine, lemon and parsley sauce topped with homemade garlicky breadcrumbs is one of my favorite summer dinners.  Don’t let cooking clams deter you.  They are easy to clean and found at most grocery stores.

Tip:  To clean your clams, soak them for 20 minutes in a bowl of cold water just before cooking. This releases any sand from their shells.  Remove the clams to a strainer and scrub off any remaining sand.

Summer Italian Dinner---Linguine with Clams

 

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Author: Tonja Engen

Ingredients

• 10 garlic cloves, divided
• 3 cups sourdough bread, crusts removed, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 Tbls. plus ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional)
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 pound littleneck clams (about a dozen)
• 1 6 oz. can of minced clams in juices
• 1 box linguine noodles
• ½ cup finely chopped parsley
• 2 Tbls. unsalted butter
• Juice of one lemon

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to directions and set aside.
2. In a food processor pulse 3 garlic cloves until chopped. Add bread and pulse several times until fine crumbs form.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet oven over medium-high. Add breadcrumb mixture and cook, stirring often, until crumbs are golden and crisp, 5–7 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add lemon zest, season with salt, and toss to combine; set aside.
4. Next, very thinly slice remaining 7 garlic cloves. Heat ¼ cup oil in Dutch oven over medium. Cook garlic, stirring often, until golden around the edges, about 3 minutes. Add anchovies, if using, and ½ tsp. red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden all over and anchovies are dissolved.
5. Add clams and wine. Cover and cook until clams are open, 5–7 minutes. Uncover pot and transfer clams to a medium bowl, leaving liquid in pot. Tent clams with foil.
6. Add minced clams with juices and stir for 30 seconds just to incorporate.
7. Add pasta and mix thoroughly, then add parsley and butter and toss until butter is melted. Sprinkle about one-third of breadcrumbs over pasta and toss to combine. Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and top with reserved clams, more breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, and a drizzle of oil.

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