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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Clam Spaghetti in White Wine Sauce



So I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and experiment with seafood. I saw that clams were on sale and I thought to myself I was really going to challenge myself.  So I apprehensively picked up a 2 pounds of them, a bottle of dry white wine and some yummy crunchy bread and prepared this delicious dish. I found this recipe in my Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Italian book, it seemed easy enough to do and had some flavorful ingredients. The recipe lived up to its expectations and all enjoyed this light, summer dish.


Spaghetti with Clams  (From Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis)
Serves 4

Ingredients
Salt
1 lb of dried spaghetti
1/2 cup EVOO
2 shallots, finely chopped
5 Garlic cloves, finely chopped ( i would even use a press next time)
2 1/2 lbs of Manila clams, scrubbed clean
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium high flame. When almost smoking, add the shallots and saute until soft. Add garlic and sautee until golden brown and the shallots are translucent.  Add the clams, wine , 2 tablespoons of parsley and 1/2 Teaspoon  each of sea salt and pepper.   Cover and simmer until most of the clams are open (tip from the hubby once they open take them right out!). This takes 4-6 minutes.  If they don't open, discard.   Whisk in butter to thicken the sauce.

Drain spaghetti reserving 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid. Do not rinse spaghetti, this will help the spaghetti to stick to the sauce.  Toss the the spaghetti w/ the clam mixture to coat. Add the cooking liquid  to moisten.

Transfer the pasta to large serving blow. Spring the lemon zest over the pasta. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve immediately.

6 comments:

  1. OH Deliciousness!!! I love spaghetti with clam sauce but NEVER make it! And, to top it off, I have that cookbook--what! Thanks for making it look so delicious that now, of course, I'm going to make it soon! :)

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    Replies
    1. It was tasty! Hope you try it! And I heart Giada! :)

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  2. I love Giada's recipes, and this one looks like another winner! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday!

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  3. I have never eaten clams but this looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends friday and hope that you will join us this week with more great recipes. Newest follower.
    http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com

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