Linguine with clam sauce

Linguine with fresh clams in a garlic white wine sauce (authentically known as linguine vongole) is one of those dinners that sounds totally chic and fancy but is actually one of the easiest and budget-friendly Italian pasta recipes you can make.

I was recently sent the new Fred’s at Barney’s New York Cookbook by Barney’s New York’s chef Mark Strausman who teaches us how to make some of the famous dishes beloved for years by celebrities and chic shoppers in the fashion store’s Fred’s restaurant.

Flipping through the cookbook there were tons of recipes that looked divine, but when I found this recipe for Mark’s Baby Clams and Spaghetti, fresh clams went directly on my shopping list.

Clams and spaghetti at Fred’s became clams and linguine at my house, and now no matter which pasta you choose to prepare, this recipe is on it’s way to yours.

Preparing Clams for Pasta

Best clams for pasta: Like every clam I eat, I like the small clams the best, preferably New Zealand cockles, Manila clams, or little neck clams. They’re sweeter than larger varieties. And while you can make surely it with canned clams, fresh baby clams in the shell are the way to go.

How to clean clams for pasta: There’s plenty of theories out there for cleaning clams with flour, baking soda, or cornmeal. But in my experience, really all you need is about 20 minutes and 3 or 4 rounds of fresh water, tossing the clams in the water after they sit for a few minutes to expel the sand if there is any.

Fresh clams that are both open and closed can be used for the sauce, but if the shells don’t open, toss them! They’re dead.

How to Make White Clam Sauce

This sauce couldn’t be easier to make for any level of cook. In fact, it’s pretty much a perfect starter for the beginning chef.

Use a good white wine for this recipe, Chef Mark suggests a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc or a trebbiano and make sure it’s of good enough quality to drink.

Thinly sliced garlic and crushed red pepper give this pasta it’s signature flavor. Feel free to add more or less of the crushed red pepper depending on how much heat you can handle. Chef Mark calls for 1 teaspoon but I cut it down to 3/4 teaspoon and while I like spice, it was just the right for me.

One twist to this recipe you won’t find in many other linguine and clams is Mark’s addition of crushed tomato to it.

Chef Mark calls for canned crushed tomato, but I found one medium fresh tomato worked just great and I didn’t have to open an entire 15-ounce can to fulfill his 1/4 cup requirement.

The clams will slowly open a they cook, releasing flavor and their flavorful juice as they cook. The recipe calls for jarred clam juice to give an even more beautifully briny bite to this dish.

Be sure you cook your pasta just ’til al dente. Adding the pasta to the clam sauce as they cook infuses the sauce’s flavor into the pasta for an extra special bite.

Add These Recipes to Your Menu and Turn this Dinner Into a Meal

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.