Linguine with Clams
The following recipe and photography was provided by recipe developer and food photographer, Ashley Durand of Plate & Pen.
When I moved to the Midwest, I quickly realized the popularity of clams and mussels. This delicacy is especially popular in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland.
In the spirit of all-things shellfish, I decided to channel my inner Italian and whip up my own take on Linguine with Clams. In its simplest form, this dish is noodles, butter, and dressy clams, but I kicked up the flavor with the addition of wine, lemons, and capers.
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Of course, the most important ingredient in this dish is the seafood. The quality of the seafood in Heinen’s Seafood Department is unmatched, and when I visited last, their clams were live and fresh on ice! It’s not every day you find that kind of freshness in a Midwest grocery store.
Cooking with these clams is simply a “no brainer!”
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Linguine with Clams
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the Steamed Clams
- 2 lb. (50 ct.) sack middle neck clams, rinsed and scrubbed
- 1/4 cup Heinen's butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. Heinen's crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. Heinen's capers
For the Linguine & Piccata Sauce
- Stancato's piccata finishing sauce
- 1 package linguine
- Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
- 2 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped for garnish
- 4 lemon wedges, for garnish
Instructions
For the Steamed Clams
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Heat another large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt.
- Add the onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the white wine and bring to a simmer. Do not boil.
- Drop the linguine noodles into the pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes or so.
- Place the clams in the skillet with the simmering white wine broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and simmer for 7-9 minutes, or until clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open at the end of the cook time.
- Remove the open clams from the pot and set aside.
- Stir in the lemon juice, parsley and capers.
- Discard half of broth in the skillet as it will make the sauce too runny later. Be careful not to lose too many onions and capers.
For the Linguine & Piccata Sauce
- Drain the boiled linguini and add a little olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking.
- Add the piccata finishing sauce to the wine broth and blend until smooth.
- Fold the cooked linguini into the skillet with the sauce and mix well.
- Add the open clams back into the skillet.
- Toss with tongs and garnish in the large skillet for the table, or individual serving bowls with tomatoes, lemon wedges and parsley.