Make Linguine with Clam Sauce to Liven Up Pasta Night

There’s a reason for the expression “happy as a clam.”

I mean, wouldn’t you be thrilled if someone tossed you in a garlicky pool of white wine and then wound you up inside a forkful of pasta?

Yeah. Same.

Cooking with clams can seem somewhat intimidating – particularly if you’re unfamiliar with eating this seasonal specialty. It’s like, why can’t I see the part I’m actually going to consume? What thoughts are going on inside of that shell’s head?

Or… body.

In my opinion, they are actually one of the easiest varieties of seafood to prepare. They’re one of the only proteins that comes with a built-in timer.

Throw a piece of halibut into a cast iron pan and wait for it to say, “Okay, take me out of the pan now!” It won’t happen. No response. Trust me, I’ve tried.

Talking to fish will get you nowhere.

But cover of a pile of clams in a garlic-scented bath of oil, citrus, and wine, and in just under ten minutes (occasionally with a delightful “pop!” sound), the mollusks will present their ready-to-be-consumed bodies to you.

They also release a tasty amount of liquid as they steam, so their shells are like tiny holders for seafood stock.

All of this sounds fancy, I know. But the best part is that it’s really not.

So now that we’ve discussed how ridiculously easy it is to make mollusks the star of your meal, let’s move onto the rest of the cast and discuss the title of the show.

If you’ve ever been confused about the difference between linguine with clams and linguine with clam sauce, you’re not alone. I went digging for answers (not for the mollusks – I got those from the fish market) and came to the following conclusion:

It’s all one and the same.

“Linguine con le Vongole” is the official Italian name for this dish that marries pasta and seafood. We all know what linguine means, and vongole denotes pasta served with clams and a light sauce of olive oil, garlic, white wine, and parsley.

So, whether you call it linguine with clams, linguine with the sauce, linguine con le vongole, or Little Red Riding Hood, it’s the same group of players grabbing onto your fork in the same delightful way.

Except for that last part. I made that up. Little Red Riding Hood is already taken.

The main variation I discovered in different versions of this recipe was essentially the amount of garlic used. The sauce is always an olive oil base and calls for a dry white wine, lemon, parsley, and a dusting of sharp Italian cheese. Some recipes called for four cloves of garlic, while some suggested twelve.

I guess it depends on if you’re preparing the meal for yourself and your cats, or for a first date.

In my case, I whipped this dish up for my pasta-obsessed husband who thinks that garlic and olive oil are the only two ingredients we have in our kitchen.

I used one of my favorite noodle tricks of reserving some of the pasta water and it worked like a charm. I’ve mastered that technique with the many times I’ve made my spaghetti alla carbonara for dinner, and it works beautifully for this recipe. The starchy cooking liquid helps the buttery sauce cling onto the linguine like a boss.

You don’t want to water the sauce down too much, though, so only a few tablespoons are required to achieve this effect. I also love to serve a few of the mollusks still in their shells simply for presentation.

You could certainly leave all of them in their shells, but my husband calls that “working for his dinner,” so I would suggest removing the majority of them.

Also, when you use the meat solo as part of the tossing process, you get the added bonus of the tender morsels tangling with the pasta strands and that makes every bite even richer.

When it comes to garnishing with Parmesan, you can never have enough, so I like to keep a full ramekin on the table for those who share my cheesy belief system.

Enough chit-chat. Grab your forks, get to twirling, and you’ll be happy as a clam in no time.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

---

★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Fanny Slater
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Looking to liven up your pasta night? Twirl up linguine with a savory, briny fresh clam sauce dotted with fresh parsley and Parmesan.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound linguine 
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds fresh clams (such as Manila or littleneck), scrubbed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine 
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan, divided

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the starchy cooking water before you drain it.
2. In a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the oil. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until lightly golden, about 45 seconds. Add the clams, and stir until coated with the garlic oil, about 1 minute.
3. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the wine and lemon juice, and cover the pan. Simmer until the shells open, about 6-8 minutes, making sure to discard any that don’t open.
4. Remove them from the pan, and set them aside to cool slightly. Remove about 3/4 of the clams from their shells and set the meat aside. If they are big, rough chop the meat into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
5. Reduce the cooking liquid by about half in volume, and then whisk in the butter. Add the pasta, starchy cooking water, salt, pepper, shelled clams, parsley, and 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Toss to coat, and season to taste with additional salt if necessary.
6. Divide the pasta, clams, and sauce among 4 bowls and top with even amounts of the remaining clams in their shells, olive oil, and Parmesan. Serve immediately.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Pasta
• Method: stovetop
• Cuisine: Dinner

Keywords: seafood, pasta, linguine, clams, garlic, lemon, white wine

Cooking by the Numbers…

Step 1 – Cook the Pasta and Chop the Garlic

Cook the pasta according to package directions, and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the starchy cooking water before you drain it in your favorite colander. This liquid will help the sauce cling to the pasta. You can also prepare the pasta in your pressure cooker.

Looking for a heartier pasta recipe? Replace the linguine with our recipe for gnocchi or spelt ravioli instead! You’ll get big, bold bites of dough alongside the seafood.

Thinly slice the garlic.

Step 2 – Make the Garlic Oil

In a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the oil. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until very lightly golden, about 45 seconds.

Step 3 – Cook the Mollusks

Add the mollusks, and stir until coated with the garlic oil, about 1 minute. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the wine and lemon juice, and cover the pan.

Simmer until the shells open, about 6-8 minutes, making sure to discard any of them that don’t open. If they are big, they may take up to 10 minutes to cook.

Step 4 – Chop

Remove from the pan, and set them aside to cool slightly. Remove about 3/4 of them from their shells and set the meat aside. If you have larger ones, rough chop the meat.

Step 5 – Reduce the Sauce

Reduce the cooking liquid by about half its volume, and then whisk in the unsalted butter.

Step 6 – Add the Pasta and Meat to the Sauce

Add the pasta, starchy cooking water, salt, pepper (freshly ground is best!), shelled meat, parsley, and 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Toss to coat, and season to taste with additional salt if necessary.

Divide the pasta, meat, and sauce among 4 bowls and top with even amounts of the remaining mollusks in their shells, olive oil, and Parmesan. Serve immediately.

About Fanny Slater

Fanny Slater is a home-taught food enthusiast based in Wilmington, North Carolina who won the “Rachael Ray Show” Great American Cookbook Competition in 2014, and published her cookbook “Orange, Lavender & Figs” in 2016. Fanny is a food and beverage writer, recipe developer, and social media influencer. She was a co-host on the Food Network series “Kitchen Sink,” was featured on Cooking Channel’s longtime popular series “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” and continues to appear regularly on the “Rachael Ray Show.”

• More Posts(207)