PASTA III

Clam Sauce

There are two variations on clam sauce. Red and White. I made a white for this dish.

First off,.. ya wanna have good tender, tasty clams. I find littleneck work well fresh or frozen. I used to intentionally freeze a bunch when they came into the restaurant fresh.

A local Supermarket was running a special on frozen seafood 'pick 5 for $20.00 I figured this would be easy enough. picked up 5 bags of frozen clams.16 clams per package.

I used;

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

the juice from 6.5 oz. can of chopped clams (reserve the clams for later)

1/2 cup sliced garlic

24 clams

Cover and steam on high for 2 - 5 minutes

3 bundles of tomato fettuccine cooked

Add the olive oil and garlic to a large saute pan and saute on low to medium heat till the edges of the garlic start to brown.

Add the clam juice, the clams and 1/4 cup water and cover the pan Steam and cook for about 3 minutes or till the clams are thawed and have just opened. Note: Reserved canned clams.

With a slotted spoon or pair of tongs remove the clams to a bowl or plate and finish the sauce with parsley and basil.

In the meantime cook your pasta. I'm using the tomato fettuccine. Note: fresh pasta takes considerably less time to cook than dried store bought pasta. About half as long.

Strain and drain your pasta then add it to your pan of clam stock and herbs.

Return the clams to the pan and add the reserved canned clams and toss or stir to evenly distribute all ingredients.

To serve I lifted the pasta out of the broth with tongs and mounded it in the middle of my plate and arranged the clams around pasta. Warmed up some garlic bread and garnished the top with grated Parmesan cheese and more parsley.

Eat well and live large my friends.