Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 lb small clams in the shell
- 1 small can of clams
- 1 small chopped onion
- 3 chopped garlic cloves
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 T oregano
- 1 t ground fennel seeds
- 2 T chopped parsley
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 2 T tomato paste
- Salt
- Pinch of sugar
- 1 lb linguine
Preparation:
Put the heat on a large kettle of water and add a palmful of salt.
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep-sided saute pan over high heat and add the onions. Once they are sizzling, turn the heat down to medium and saute them until they just begin to turn color.
Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and the oregano and fennel seed and the juice from the can of clams. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Let this cook down until it is thick.
Add the crushed tomatoes and the pinch of sugar. Taste it, and add salt if needed. Let this simmer for 10 minutes.
The pasta water should be boiling, so add your linguine.
Once the linguine is boiling, add the fresh and canned clams to the sauce, mix to combine and cover the pot. Turn the heat up to medium-high and let the clams steam open, about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, check to see if most of the clams have opened. Once they have, uncover the pot and turn the heat all the way up to high. You want to steam off as much liquid as you can while the linguine finishes. Shake the pot and stir often to prevent sticking.
Drain the pasta and turn off the heat on the pot. Pick out any clams that have not opened and discard. Now you have a choice: Serve the clams in the shell (be sure to provide a bowl for them!) or pick out the meats. I pick out the meats for all but one clam per diner, and I use that one clam as a garnish.
To serve, toss the linguine with the sauce, top with the chopped parsley and one clam in its shell.