Manila Clam Pasta Food

SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE

Steps:

• Heat up a pot of water and cook the thick spaghetti or linguine until al dente (with a bite in the center of the pasta) per the packaging instructions. Drained and set aside. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
• Heat up a deep skillet, add olive oil and butter. Lightly saute the garlic until you sell the aroma, but not browned.
• Add the clams, pasta water and white wine. (If you can't have alcohol, use water or chicken broth.) Lightly stir the clams and cover the skillet with its lid until the clams open up. Add chicken bouillon powder, ground black pepper and Italian parsley.
• Add the pasta into the skillet. Quickly stir to combine well with the clams and sauce. Add salt to taste. Dish out and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta, stirring constantly in the beginning to prevent it from sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. When almost smoking, add shallots and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the clams and wine. Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until most clams have opened.
• Add 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Whisk in butter to thicken sauce slightly.
• Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water - this will remove the pasta's natural starches. Place pasta into the clam saute pan and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning.
• Pour pasta into large serving bowl. Zest lemon over the dish, being carefull not to zest the white part of the lemon, which is bitter. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of highly salted water to a boil. Cook the linguine according to the package directions, minus 4 to 5 minutes. Drain well and reserve the pasta water.
• Meanwhile, heat 5 tablespoons butter, the oil, garlic and parsley sprigs in a 12-inch saute pan over high heat just until the butter slightly simmers. (Do not allow the garlic to brown.) Add the clams and cook for 1 minute, then add the wine and cook, uncovered, until the clams open. Once the clams are open, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon, discarding any clams that do not open. Discard the parsley sprigs.
• Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and reduce the sauce until the wine is cooked out thoroughly and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Add the linguine, toss to coat and continue to cook, about 3 minutes, adding the reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, if the sauce seems too thick. Adjust salt if needed. Vigorously stir in the fresh lemon juice and chopped parsley just before finishing to bring the sauce together.
• Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and top with the clams. Garnish with parsley leaves.

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.