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Photo of Linguini with red clam sauce & fresh herbs by WW

Linguini with red clam sauce & fresh herbs

6
Points®
Total Time
45 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
25 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Moderate
This dish is a classic in Italian cuisine, and it relies on the slightly salty, slightly sweet flavor of fresh clams to make it shine. Littleneck clams are smaller-sized clams that readily available in supermarkets and aren’t as expensive as some other varieties. We added in canned clams to amp up the sauce without a tremendous added cost. Want a mixed-seafood dish? Add a dozen scrubbed mussels and a handful or two of peeled, deveined medium shrimp to the skillet in Step 4 after the tomatoes are cooked through; cook, covered, until the mussels open and the shrimp are pink. You'll have a delicious frutti di mare.

Ingredients

Littleneck clams

24 small, scrubbed

White wine

½ cup(s), dry variety

Fresh thyme

1 Tbsp, leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Fresh oregano

1 Tbsp, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried oregan

Garlic

4 clove(s), finely chopped

Uncooked linguini

6 oz

Olive oil

1 Tbsp

Plum tomato

8 medium, chopped

Fresh basil

2 Tbsp, chopped

Fresh parsley

3 Tbsp, chopped

Crushed red pepper flakes

¼ tsp

Table salt

½ tsp

Canned clams

6½ oz, drained, minced (with juice)

Instructions

  1. Scrub clams well under cold running water. Place in large pot of cold water; let soak a few minutes to release any residual grit, then drain. Repeat for several changes of water until no sand falls to bottom of pot.
  2. Combine clams, wine, thyme, oregano, and garlic in large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat until clams open, about 5 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. When cool enough to handle, remove clam meat from 12 shells and coarsely chop. Reserve remaining clams with meat still inside for garnish; reserve cooking liquid (including the garlic and herbs) separately.
  3. Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain and place in warmed serving bowl; keep warm.
  4. Meanwhile, heat oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, 1 tablespoon basil, 2 tablespoons parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook, stirring, over medium heat, until tomatoes begin to break down, 5−10 minutes. Add reserved clam cooking liquid and canned clams and juice; reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Stir in chopped clam meat and heat through, about 1 minute. Pour over linguine, toss to coat, and garnish with reserved clam shells. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 tablespoon basil and serve at once.
  5. Serving size: about 1⅔ cups

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