Roch's Spaghetti and Clam Sauce

[Rocklobster]

I finally got 'round to doing up GF's favorite pasta dish that I make. It is a dish I make with canned clams. We are land-locked in a small town so ya gotta make do...

My ingredients were spaghetti, canned baby clams, the juice from the clams, pancetta, olive oil, white wine, leek, green onion, sweet peppers, diced tomatoes, garlic, butter, parsley, fresh thyme, chopped parsley. And, of course, parmesan cheese.

 

[Rocklobster]

This is an A la carte dish so I prepped my fresh ingredients first and got everything ready(mise en place). Had it all ready beside the stove so I could just stand there and add things in order.

 

[Rocklobster]

I got a couple of talbespoons of olive oil hot and added the panchetta. Fried it up until it started to brown. I don't like it too crispy and like to fry it at a med high temp so it doesn't smoke too much. Then I drained about half of the fat in the pot and added the garlic and onion/leek mix and sauteed that for a couple of minutes. Once they were starting to soften I added the minced clams and let that cook away for another three or four minutes. Then, I added the diced tomatoes, chopped sweet peppers and continued to stir for another couple of minutes.

 

[Rocklobster]

When this started to dry out a bit and looked like it is getting cooked up, I glugged in some white wine and cranked the heat and deg-lazed the pot. When the wine evaporated about half I added the clam juice, some black pepper, and fresh herbs(I used thyme and parsley today) and let it reduce until the sauce started to become rich.

I added the pasta to the boiling water around the same time as the wine so it would all be done at the same time.

If the sauce is getting too thick you can shut it off and wait a couple of minutes until the pasta is done.

 

[Rocklobster]

The pasta was finishing up about then so, turned off the clams and added a couple of tablespoons of butter to the sauce to let it melt. Drained the pasta, added it to the sauce with a good handful of freshly grated Parmesan and give it a good mix.

That is pretty much it, folks.

 

[Rocklobster]

Finished with some more Parmesan, Parsley, and black pepper...

 

[taxlady]

I have a few tins of those Clover Leaf Baby Clams. This sounds like the perfect thing to do with them.

Is it just the one tin?

I have copied and pasted your recipe Roch, even the pix.

 

[Rocklobster]

I used one tin. You could use more if you wanted. I probably wouldn't double the clam juice portion, though.

 

[taxlady]

Thanks. I'll try it with one tin the first time.

 

[pacanis]

Nice job. It looks great.

 

[taxlady]

Yup, nice pix. Nice tutorial.

 

[Dawgluver]

Nice tutorial, Roch. I usually add a can of minced or chopped clams and their liquid to my spaghetti sauce too, love the "chew".

 

[Whiskadoodle]

I am land locked too, I think canned clams are consistent and taste just fine.


What little I know about spaghetti with clam sauce. I have only ever seen clams w/ white sauce or red sauce at Italian resto's. I choose white. Never tasted red, do they use a marinara sauce? The white sauce is usually heavy enough, creamy with or without a splash of wine and little else to gussy up the dish beyond a sprinkle of parsley. I add more parm and call it good.

Now , about your dish. I like how you use more veggies to lighten it up and provide more flavors. Plus it turns out so purdy

No wonder your GF likes this dish.

 

[Addie]

Because the clams have already been cook in their juice in the canning process, the only thing I would have done differently is added the clams at the very last. They would stay more tender that way.

The classic pasta for this Italian dish is linguini. A pasta that can be difficult to twirl on one's fork. So I have always used just plain thin spaghetti. I do like the addition of the varied colored peppers. Makes for a very colorful and interesting dish. Since I don't have alcohol in my home, I would have added a bottle of clam juice.

 

[Rocklobster]

I mince the clams so they aren't so big and chewy. This creates a nice flavor for the base of the sauce. I also use linguine, spaghetti, whatever I have around. I'm not one to be restricted by rules...I usually have a large bottle of table wine in the fridge for cooking and with the butter, garlic, and seafood this is a perfect match for me. Creates a nice touch for only a few more cents per portion.

 

[Kayelle]

WOW that's just beautiful. I'm looking forward to trying your version. I also don't add my canned clams till the very end as they are already cooked and get very tough with added cooking. I also use bottled clam juice that's readily available at the grocery.

Thanks again for the feast for the eyes!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Rock, that's a fine plate of pasta. I bet it tasted every bit as good as it looked.

My son the chef, and I made a similar dish for my youngest and her hubby for their reception. I have this idea that everyone gets good food at the reception, but the bride and groom get exceptional food. Since I catered both of my daughter's receptions, that's what happened.

In ours, we used a good tomato gravy with oregano, basil, etc., added chopped onion and peppers, fresh mussels, clams, and mushrooms. It came out great. I had never even heard of the dish before. I'm thankful for my son's expertise.

Sadly, as DW isn't the seafood fan that I am, and seafood prices are sky-high in my town, if you can find it at all, I don't make this at home. We bought all of our ingredients at Pike's Place Market in Seatlle, as the reception was in the Tacoma, Wa. area.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Kayelle]

Just an additional thought here. I for one don't want to deal with whole fresh shellfish for this or any other dish with pasta. The dishes may look extra pretty but do little else in my opinion.

 

[Addie]

Just an additional thought here. I for one don't want to deal with whole fresh shellfish for this or any other dish with pasta. The dishes may look extra pretty but do little else in my opinion.

To make this dish with fresh live shellfish is a lot of work. Starting with scrubbing the shells and checking every single one to make sure they are still alive, then steaming them, removing the meat when they are done steaming, and catching every drop of liquor, then straining the broth to eliminate the sand, etc. Yes they are a lot of work. I too use the canned clams. And bottled broth. But you have to find a bottle that does not have sand at the bottom. Or the one with the least amount.

I do make clam chowder with the fresh shellfish though. Both clams and mussels. So well worth the extra work for that dish. It is what I grew up eating.

 

[Kayelle]

I only imagine how much work it would be Addie and I'd never do it.
Often you see this dish served with clams in the shell along with the sauce and pasta, my real reason for the comment.