Spicy Clam Pasta Recipe Recipe Cards

SPICY CLAM PASTA WITH BACON, PEAS AND BASIL

Steps:

• Put basil, parsley and garlic in a mortar or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 cup oil. Pound or whiz to obtain a bright green purée.
• Put a pot of water on to boil and make it very salty. (It will boil faster with the lid on.)
• Over medium heat, render bacon in its own fat until browned and crisp but not hard, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off fat but leave a small amount in the pan, just to coat the bottom.
• Increase heat to medium-high, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the clams, serrano chile and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring and coating clams well. Add peas and warm through, then turn off heat.
• Boil pasta and cook until slightly underdone. Drain pasta and add to pan with clams. Turn heat to medium-high and stir all together. Add a splash of pasta water, if it seems dry. Add basil purée and toss well. Top with bacon and reserved basil leaves. Pass lemon wedges.

SPICY LINGUINE WITH CLAMS AND MUSSELS

Steps:

• Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the butter and parsley and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Sauce: In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, red pepper flakes, clams and mussels. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook until all the shellfish have opened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Discard any unopened shellfish.
• Using tongs, remove the shellfish from the pan and reserve. Season the cooking liquid with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour the shellfish cooking liquid over the pasta and toss well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the reserved shellfish on top of the pasta and serve.

SPICY CLAMS WITH SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add wine and bring to a simmer. Increase heat to medium-high and add clams. Cover and cook just until clams open, 4 to 5 minutes. Discard unopened clams.
• Stir in butter and parsley leaves and stems. Add pasta and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce is loose and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

CLAMS WITH SPICY TOMATO BROTH AND GARLIC MAYO

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium heat. Finely grate zest from lemon half into a small bowl, then squeeze in juice. Finely grate whole garlic clove into bowl and mix in mayonnaise. Season garlic mayo with salt and set aside.
• Place a large cast-iron skillet on grill and heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Add sliced garlic, shallots, and chile and cook, stirring often, until just softened, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until paste darkens slightly, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 4 minutes. Add wine and cook until it is almost reduced by half and no longer smells boozy, about 3 minutes.
• Add clams and butter to skillet and cover (if you don't have a lid that fits, use a sheet of foil). Cook until clams have opened, 6-10 minutes, depending on size of clams and heat level. Remove skillet from grill; discard any clams that don't open. Sprinkle with chives.
• Meanwhile, drizzle bread with remaining 3 Tbsp. oil and season lightly with salt. Grill until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side.
• Serve clams with toasted bread and reserved garlic mayo.

SPICY CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and drained clams; cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Season with oregano, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Pour in the reserved clam juice. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and serve over pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

SPICY CLAM CHORIZO PASTA

Steps:

• Rinse and scrub the clams under cold water, making sure they are closed and unbroken. Discard any that aren't closed. Drain well.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot or casserole set over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chorizo, breaking it into smaller pieces with two wooden spatulas or spoons, and fry until it begins to crisp and brown, about 4 minutes. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
• Add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil to the rendered chorizo fat and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for a couple minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chile de arbol and cook for a minute, until the garlic is fragrant and the chile de arbol begins to toast. Pour in the beer, add the salt, and once it comes to a simmer, incorporate the drained clams. Let it come to a simmer again, cover with a lid, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the shells open.
• Remove the lid and transfer the clams using a slotted spoon into a bowl, including the ones that may have fallen from the shells. Raise the heat to medium-high and continue to cook the beer-clam liquid for 6 to 7 minutes, so it strongly simmers and a lot of the alcohol evaporates. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and honey. Stir well, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once in between.
• Meanwhile, bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 9 to 10 minutes.
• Remove about 3 dozen clams from their shells and discard those shells. Remove the lid from the pot with the sauce and incorporate the cooked chorizo, shelled clams, and the clams still in their shells. Mix well.
• Strain the spaghetti and add it to the sauce. Toss until it is coated. Transfer to a serving platter or individual bowls and garnish with the parsley and cilantro and serve.

SPICY LEMONY CLAMS WITH PASTA

Steps:

• Fill a large stockpot three-quarters full of water, and add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, and add pasta. Boil until pasta is al dente, 7 to 8 minutes, and drain well. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce.
• In a large skillet over medium-low heat, heat olive oil. Add garlic, and saute just until garlic is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add clams and wine, and cover immediately. Raise heat to medium-high. Shake pan often, and check clams after 4 minutes. If any have opened, transfer them to a bowl so they do not overcook. Simmer remaining clams until all have opened.
• In a large serving bowl, combine clams and broth from pan. Add pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Add drained pasta, and toss well. Serve in soup bowls, accompanied by hot sourdough toast.

PASTA WITH SPICY RED CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat some olive oil in a large skillet. When hot add the anchovy fillets and onion.
• Once the onions turn translucent, add the garlic, capers and clams along with the clam juice.
• Add the white wine, tomato sauce, and red pepper flakes. Allow to simmer until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the basil.
• Pour over cooked pasta and toss to coat the pasta well. Serve with hot with a sprinkling of romano cheese if desired.

PASTA PAELLA WITH CLAMS AND SPICY SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cut zucchini and tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and keep vegetables separate. Chop onion and mince garlic.
• In a heavy kettle heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté uncooked pasta, turning occasionally, until golden, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer pasta to a bowl. In oil remaining in kettle sauté zucchini with salt to taste, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes, and transfer to another bowl. Squeeze sausage from casings into kettle and add onion and garlic. Sauté mixture, stirring and breaking up sausage, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, and wine and bring to a boil. Add pasta and clams and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes, or until clams are opened and pasta is al dente. (Discard any unopened clams.) Stir in zucchini and parsley and cook until heated through.

SPICY SQUID RAGU WITH PASTA & CLAMS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan or flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat and fry the onions for 8-10 mins until golden. Scatter in the garlic and chilli, season with salt and cook for 2 mins more. Stir through the squid and cook for another 10 mins until the squid has tightened up and any liquid has evaporated. Splash in the wine and bubble away for 5-6 mins, then tip in the tomatoes. Stir well, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 25-30 mins until the squid is tender and the sauce thick and rich. Once completely cooled, the ragu can be covered and chilled for up to two days or frozen for a month. Defrost completely in the fridge overnight and reheat over a low heat until bubbling before continuing with step two, below.
• Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water for a minute less than pack instructions. Meanwhile, stir the clams or mussels into the ragu. Cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat for 6-8 mins, giving the pan an occasional shake until all the clams have opened - remove and discard any that remain closed after this time. Turn off the heat.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Stir the pasta into the ragu and warm everything through over a low heat for a minute, adding a small splash of the reserved water if the sauce needs to be loosened. Turn off the heat and add a drizzle of oil, the parsley leaves and lemon zest. Stir, then bring the pan to the table for serving alongside a separate bowl to collect the clam shells.