Chef it up, yo!

This is a relatively easy (but very very tasty) recipe I came up with last week. H was at a work thang and wasn’t going to be home for dinner so I whipped this little gem up for myself. I had been seriously eyeballing this can o’ clams in the cupboard for weeks so I figured it’s time was now up. By the way, this is the white clam sauce version not the red clam sauce one!

I was very happy with the way this dish came out. Obviously fresh clams would have made this recipe to die for but that really wasn’t an option. It made plenty for two - which meant since it was only me eating that night, I had left-ovahs! I took it to work two days later and heated it up in the microwave (snicker). Not one bad thing to say about it! My creation survived two days hanging out in the fridge, as well as the horrible reheating conditions imposed by the microwave (snicker). The only thing I can say was that I had to eat about 4 Lifesaver Peppermints one after another following lunch. I may not have under normal circumstances, but we were having a staff meeting and I was definitely a little ripe-in-the-breath with the garlic. You have been warned. Fast fact: Did you know that H and I donated our microwave last year because we don’t really like it or use it? Yep, we ditched it. We hate the way it absolutely torches food when you try to reheat something. I particularly can’t stand the fact that it is a total counterspace hog. In our kitchen there is already NO counterspace to begin with, so I’m sure you can smell what I’m steppin’ in. Do you know how hard it is to have to hide away my lovely cooking gadgets and kitchen tools? It actually is pretty painful because ultimately what happens is that they rarely end up getting used! You see, going outside and then downstairs into the creepy spider-infested storage area is not all that appealing to me. I end up just making do with what I have instead. Wemp, wemp. So how do we live life without a microwave, many people ask us surprised and perplexed? Well we certainly plan better when it comes to defrosting frozen foods, we use a double-boiler to reheat any leftovers, and I boil water in a kettle for my nighttime tea. We seriously don’t miss it one bit!

Linguini with Clam Sauce

• 6 anchovy fillets
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 – 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, your call
• 2 teaspoons of basil olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 can of clams with juice (I used Snow’s chopped clams 6.5 oz)
• 1 teaspoon of fresh parsley
• Fresh cooked linguini (preferred but any pasta will work)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat basil olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan on medium heat. Sauté anchovies until they break up and dissolve into the oil. Melt butter then add shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes, until shallots and garlic are soft but not brown. Add clams, including the juice from can, basil and parsley, stirring to combine. Add white wine and reduce slightly about 3 minutes. Add enough parmesan cheese to thicken sauce just a bit (keep in mind that the sauce is supposed to be on the thin side). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over freshly cooked linguini with garlic bread for optimal results.

(click on images to enlarge)

Methane Meter slurps:

Download or print recipe here:
Linguini with Clam Sauce Recipe (PDF 16.4 kb)

This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 8:19 pm and is filed under Italian, Sauces/reductions, Seafood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.