Amandas Linguine Vongole Recipes

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS (LINGUINE ALLE VONGOLE)

Steps:

• Sort and clean clams following the instructions in my Fresh Clams Guide.
• Cook linguine in a large pot of salted boiling water until it's about a minute shy of al dente, about 8 minutes (pasta will finish cooking in the clam sauce and should have a little firmness to it).
• While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a deep skillet, sauté pan, or braiser (12-14 inches wide). Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is lightly-browned and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add white wine, lemon juice, and clams, cover pan, and steam over medium-high heat until clamshells have opened, about 5-8 minutes. Gently shake the pan occasionally. I like to start checking the clams at the early end of the range, transferring them from the pan one at a time to a holding bowl as they cook. For tender clams, it's important not to overcook. Tent the bowl of cooked clams with foil. (A few clams might need a little extra time. Discard any clams that don't open after 10-13 minutes.)
• Reserve 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta water before draining the linguine. When all of the clams are cooked and removed from the pan, whisk 3 tablespoons of butter into the simmering steaming liquid.
• Add the drained linguine to the pan, tossing to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes, until linguine is al dente. The sauce should be brothy, but will lightly cling to the noodles. If the linguine looks dry at any point, stir in some of the reserved pasta water, as needed.
• Stir the chopped parsley into the pasta. Season to taste with salt*, additional red pepper flakes, and lemon juice**, if needed.
• At this point, you can either remove the clams from their shells and stir the meat into the pasta, or serve the pasta tossed or topped with the whole clams for guests to de-shell in their bowls. We like to remove the meat from about half of the clams and leave half whole.
• Garnish the dish with a drizzle of fruity olive oil, fresh lemon wedges, and the remaining parsely. Serve immediately with crusty bread for dipping.

LINGUINE CON VONGOLE

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and add enough salt so the water tastes like seawater, and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package until 2 minutes shy of al dente.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan until shimmering. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute.
• Add the cockles, red pepper flakes and white wine and shake to combine. Cover and cook until the cockles open, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the lid and discard any cockles that haven't opened (those are dead).
• Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the cockles. Cook, tossing to combine, until the pasta is al dente and absorbs some of the clam juices.
• Add the butter and parsley and shake the pan to combine.
• Season to taste with salt and black pepper and serve immediately with slices of bread on the side to sop up the juices in the bowl.

LINGUINE CON LE VONGOLE

Steps:

• Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the linguine will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium flame in a deep saute pan with a lid. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes; saute for 2 minutes. Add the clams, wine, and lemon juice. Cover and cook, shaking the pan periodically, until all the clams are opened, about 7 minutes. Discard any that have not opened.
• Crank the flame up to medium-high heat. Add the hot, drained linguine to the pan; add the butter and season with salt and pepper. Toss the pasta with the clams to it's nicely coated. Shower with chopped parsley and toasted bread crumbs. Drizzle with a nice dose of olive oil before serving.

LINGUINE ALLE VONGOLE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute pancetta, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in clams, broth, wine, and chiles and boil, covered until clams open, about 4 to 5 minutes (discard any clams that do not open after 6 minutes). If using whole chiles, remove with a slotted spoon and discard.
• While clams are cooking, cook pasta in a 6-quart pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Drain in a colander, then add to clams and simmer, stirring, 30 seconds.
• Toss pasta with parsley and drizzle with remaining 5 tablespoons oil.

SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat cook the garlic cloves in olive oil until golden, about 1 minute. Add the chili-pepper flakes, clams and wine. Cover the pot and steam until the clams open, about 5 to 7 minutes. Strain, reserve the broth and set the clams aside to cool.
• Boil the spaghetti in well-salted water until tender. While it is cooking, take the clams from the shells. Discard the shells. Put the reserved clam broth in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it is boiling, add the lemon juice, the parsley and the reserved clams. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the spaghetti, toss and serve.