Spaghetti with Clams

Spaghetti with Clams

We rarely have any leftover white wine in an opened bottle. But when we do, I like to take take advantage & cook with it. This clam sauce came together in under a half hour. I am a sucker for pasta served up anyway, but this one hits a particular weak spot, perhaps evoking fond memories of travels through Italy. If serving this for a crowd, I would definitely gussy this one up with 2 dozen little neck clams in their shell to add a wow factor to each plate.

ingredients:
1/2 box thin spaghetti noodles
1 glug olive oil
2 butter pats, divided
1 10 oz can whole fancy baby clams
~1/3 bottle of white wine (we used sauvignon blanc)
1 tsp olive oil
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic
1 inch piece parmesean cheese, finely grated
1 handful of parsley, chopped
1 lemon slice
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
yield: 4 servings

1. salt large pot of water, add a glug of olive oil. bring to a rigorous boil & add pasta. cook until al dente, approximately 8 minutes. when draining pasta, reserve 1/2-1 cup of the cooking liquids. 

2. meanwhile, melt 1 pat of butter in a pan over low-medium heat. add clams & ~1/2 the juices from the can, white wine, olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic. cook until the wine has cooked off (you should not be able to smell it).

3. combine the cooked pasta with the clam sauce & reserved pasta liquids. garnish with grated parmesean cheese, coarsely chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon & fresh ground black pepper.