Linguine with Clams
Serves 2 · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 20 minutes · Total: about 35 minutes, plus soaking
I make clam pasta when I want something that feels like a restaurant order but doesn’t ask much more than a bag of clams, a few cloves of garlic, and an open bottle of white wine. It comes to the table looking fairly plain: pale linguine, shells, parsley, a shine of olive oil. Then you get a bite with clam liquor caught on the pasta, salty and a little sweet, and the whole thing makes sense.
For this, I like small clams: littlenecks, manilas, or cockles if you find them. Small clams open quickly, stay tender, and give you the clean, briny broth that becomes the sauce. Larger clams are better saved for chowder.
Ingredients
Main
- 2 pounds small live clams, such as littlenecks, manilas, or cockles
- 8 ounces linguine
- 1 quart cold water, for soaking the clams
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt, or 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, for soaking
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus more for serving
- Kosher salt, for the pasta water
- Black pepper
Optional
- 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
- Lemon wedge
- Toasted breadcrumbs (recipe follows)
Instructions
- 1
Soak the clams
Stir the salt into 1 quart cold water until dissolved. Add the clams and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. When you are ready to cook, lift the clams out of the water with your hands or a slotted spoon, leaving any grit behind in the bowl.
- 2
Scrub and sort
Scrub the clams under cold running water. Discard any cracked clams. If a clam is open, tap it firmly on the counter; if it does not close, discard it.
- 3
Boil the pasta water
Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Salt it with 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt.
- 4
Cook the garlic
Set a wide skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and sliced garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the garlic is pale gold at the edges and no longer smells raw, 3 to 5 minutes. Keep the heat gentle; dark garlic will make the sauce bitter.
- 5
Add the wine
Add the red pepper flakes and stir for about 15 seconds. Pour in the wine, raise the heat to medium-high, and let it boil for 1 minute.
- 6
Add clams and pasta
Add the clams and cover the pan. Drop the linguine into the boiling water right after the lid goes on the clams.
- 7
Open the clams
After 4 minutes, start checking the clams. Transfer opened clams to a bowl, cover the pan again, and keep checking every minute. Most should open within 6 to 8 minutes total. Discard any clams that are still closed after 10 minutes.
- 8
Cook the linguine
Cook the linguine until it is about 2 minutes short of al dente. Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- 9
Check the broth
Check the liquid in the clam pan. If you see grit, strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup, wipe out the pan, and pour the liquid back in. If the liquid looks clean, leave it in the pan.
- 10
Combine
Add the drained linguine to the clam liquid with ¼ cup pasta water. Toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the pasta finishes cooking and the sauce coats the noodles. Add more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, only if the pan gets dry before the pasta is done.
- 11
Finish the pan
Turn off the heat. Add the parsley, black pepper, a small drizzle of olive oil, and the butter if using. Return the clams to the pan with any juice collected in the bowl. Fold everything together gently.
- 12
Season with lemon
Taste before adding lemon. A small squeeze helps if the pasta tastes flat, but too much can make the clam broth taste thin.
- 13
Serve
Serve in shallow bowls with more parsley. If using breadcrumbs, add them at the table. Skip the cheese.
Recipe notes
Equipment & shortcuts
- Toasted breadcrumbs: Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add ⅓ cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until deep golden and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Let them cool for a minute before scattering over the pasta.
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