Best Ny Times Clam Pasta Recipes

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.

SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, soak clams in cold water.
• Add spaghetti to boiling water, and cook until slightly underdone; pasta will finish cooking in sauce. Meanwhile, place a large saucepan over medium-low heat, and add olive oil, garlic and chili pepper. Sauté gently, reducing heat if necessary so garlic does not brown.
• Add vermouth and clams, and cover. Clams should open in about 2 minutes. (If pasta is ready first, drain it and toss with a small amount of olive oil.) Add hot drained pasta, cover, and shake pot gently. Allow to simmer for another 1 or 2 minutes until it is done to taste.
• Discard any clams that have not opened. Add half the parsley, and shake pan to distribute evenly. Transfer to a plate or bowl, and sprinkle with remaining parsley.

CLAM PASTA WITH BASIL AND HOT PEPPER

Steps:

• Make the purée: Grind basil and parsley together in a food processor. (Alternatively, hand chop herbs or pound them in a mortar.) Add garlic paste and 1/4 cup olive oil and pulse to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rapid boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions, taking care to keep pasta quite al dente. It's best to use a timer, and drain pasta as soon as it's done.
• While pasta is cooking, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed wide pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic, fennel seed if using and pepperoncino, and let sizzle without browning, about 1 minute. Add clams, stirring to coat with a wooden spoon. Raise heat to high, add wine and put on the lid. Cook, covered, until all clams have opened, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat. (Discard any clams that fail to open.)
• Add cooked pasta and basil purée to pot and toss gently to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with basil leaves and lemon wedges.

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS, ROASTED TOMATOES AND CARAMELIZED GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Smash and peel 8 garlic cloves; peel and finely chop the remaining 6. Toss the smashed garlic with the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of oil, fine sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Spread the tomatoes out in a layer in one or two baking pans (make sure they aren't too crowded, so they don't steam) and roast tomatoes, tossing occasionally, until bursting, 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a large pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the pasta until it is 2 minutes from being done to taste. Drain.
• Return the pasta pot to medium-high heat. Warm 4 tablespoons oil in the pot. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and let simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Add the clams. Cover the pot and cook until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes. Use tongs to transfer open clams to a bowl; discard any that do not open.
• Add the pasta and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper to the sauce in the pot. Cook, tossing, until pasta is just cooked through. Return the clams to the pot and toss with the pasta. Divide mixture among serving bowls. Garnish with mint and drizzle with more oil.

PASTA WITH CLAMS MERIDIONALE

Steps:

• Shuck the clams and reserve the clams and the juice. There should be about one cup of clams and one and one-half cups of juice.
• Put the clams on a flat surface and chop them finely.
• Bring the water to the boil, and add one-half cup of the clam juice and salt.
• Add the spaghetti to the kettle and let it boil as the sauce is prepared. Cook the spaghetti to the desired state of doneness. We prefer it al dente.
• Add the oil to a small skillet and heat it. Add the remaining clam juice to another skillet or casserole large enough to toss the spaghetti in sauce once it is added. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the clam juice. Add the cream and stir. Let heat slowly as you prepare the sauce.
• Add the clams, garlic and parsley to the oil and heat for about 30 seconds or until thoroughly hot. Do not cook. Pour and scrape this over the spaghetti and add the butter. Toss. Add the Pernod or Ricard and serve immediately.

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.

PIERRE FRANEY'S PASTA WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• In a 10- or 12-inch frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and fry the garlic until fragrant, taking care not to burn it. Add the thyme and clam juice and reduce by half, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and reduce, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup heavy cream and simmer till the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Combine 1 cup of the basil leaves and the clams and add to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
• Cook the fettuccine until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. Add Parmesan to taste. Correct the seasonings. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water or additional cream, sparingly. Simmer the pasta and stir until sauce is the desired thickness. Add more basil to taste and serve immediately.

LINGUINE AND CLAMS WITH FRESH RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta according to package directions until 3 minutes shy of al dente. (It will finish cooking in the sauce; pasta should be toothsome but not crunchy.) Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.
• Meanwhile, once pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and start to pop, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add reserved clam juice (you should have about 1 cup) and stir to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add sauce, pasta, 1/2 cup of the pasta water and the butter back to the large pot, and cook, stirring vigorously, until sauce is thickened and pasta is al dente, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup more pasta water if a thinner sauce is desired.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the clams, cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide pasta among bowls and garnish with cheese, parsley, black pepper and red-pepper flakes, if using.

LINGUINE WITH CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until 2 minutes short of al dente (it will finish cooking in the sauce). Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain pasta.
• While the pasta cooks, make your sauce: Heat the oil in a deep-sided 12-inch skillet over medium. Add the garlic, red-pepper flakes and oregano and cook until the garlic is pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vermouth and simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the clams with their juices and cook until just warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Add the cooked pasta directly to the skillet along with the butter and lemon zest and toss until the butter has melted and the pasta is glossy with sauce. If needed, add 1/4 cup reserved pasta water. Stir in half the parsley.
• Serve pasta topped with a drizzle of olive oil, if desired, and the remaining parsley. Serve lemon wedges alongside if you like.