Vermicelli with Red Clam Sauce
Submitted by Rella
Fresh clams steamed in a garlicky tomato and white wine sauce over vermicelli. This Italian red clam sauce uses whole shell-on clams for a restaurant-worthy seafood pasta at home.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
35 minCOOK
25 minREADY
60 minThere’s something deeply satisfying about a bowl of pasta crowned with shell-on clams sitting in a pool of red sauce.
Three pounds of fresh clams get purged in salt water, then steamed open in a sauce built from six cloves of garlic, tomato puree, dry white wine, and a hit of red pepper flakes. The clams release their briny liquor into the sauce as they cook, and that’s where the magic happens.
The pasta goes straight into the sauce to soak up all that garlicky, wine-laced tomato goodness before getting tossed with fresh parsley and Parmesan. Serve it in warm bowls with crusty bread for mopping.
Chef Tips
- Soak the clams in cold salted water for 30 minutes before cooking. This purges any sand or grit trapped inside the shells.
- Discard any clams that don’t open after cooking. If they stayed shut, they were dead before they hit the pan.
- Toss the drained pasta directly into the sauce and stir for a few minutes. The pasta absorbs flavour and the starch thickens the sauce slightly.
- Six cloves of garlic is not a typo. Go bold here.
Ingredients
Directions
Put clams into large pan and cover with water.
Pour in the salt, stir, and refrigerate 30 mins.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes; sauté about 2 minutes.
Add tomato purée and wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
Drain clams in a colander and rinse well.
Put clams into the sauce with half of the parsley.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook about 7 minutes or until clam shells have opened.
Discard any clams not opened.
Remove clams with slotted spoon, place in bowl, cover with foil.
Drain pasta and put into the sauce.
Stir for about 3 minutes so that pasta absorbs some of the sauce.
Toss with the remaining parsely, the parmesan, and clams.
Serve on heated plates or pasta bowls.
Comments