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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Spaghetti with Fresh Clams in White Wine Sauce

Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce   Recipe from @utry.it


My kids love pastas and noodles.  This Spaghetti with Fresh Clams in White Wine Sauce is by far the most request pasta dish in our house.  The only reason why I'm not cooking it once a week was because I need to get live fresh clams for this dish.  Otherwise, you bet I would.  Yes, it said white wine sauce.  But don't worry, it's only a small amount and the alcohol will evaporate off in the cooking process.


Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce   Recipe from @utry.it

I love preparing different pastas for the kids as they are generally faster cooking than Chinese cuisine.  This dish is definitely a fast cooking one.  The only time consuming step is the wait time.  You might wonder what wait time?  Well, I'm referring to soaking the clams in cold water along with a tablespoon of flour so that the live clams will spit out all the sands.  This is an important step so you don't get sandy clams in your pasta.  So, I usually get the clams early in the morning or even the day before so they are ready when you're ready to cook.

Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce   Recipe from @utry.it


I also included some important tips in cooking with live clams in the recipe below.  If you came across any question, feel free to ask me in the comment session below.

If you plan to make this dish, just make sure you get live clams and not frozen ones because they'll make all the difference in the world.  The natural sweetness from the fresh clams is simply amazing!  So, if you're getting bored with your tomato based pasta at home, give this recipe a try.  I'm sure you and your family will love it.



Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce   Recipe from @utry.it


Props used in this post: 
Core Bamboo 3-Piece Cutlery Set  (Click here to see product information)
Wood Print Photography Backdrop (Click here to see similar product)
Core Bamboo Cutting Board
 (Click here to see product information)

Gourmet Setting Flatware Treble (Click here to see product information)




Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce:
1 pound spaghetti (I used dried ones this time)
4 to 6 quarts of water (for cooking pasta)
1 tablespoon of sea salt (for cooking pasta)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 medium size shallots, finely diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, or you can cut it down to 1/8 tsp if preparing for kids)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cup seafood stock (you can get it from your fish monger, or use bottled clam juice from the market. I made by own by boiling water with shrimp shells and heads)
3 pounds live clams, washed and clean*** (I've got Nuttallia obscurata, also known as Purple Varnish Clams, as you can see the purple color from the inside of the clams.  You can substitute with manila clams as well)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

In a large pot, bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to a boil, add the sea salt and stir in the spaghetti.  Cook spaghetti according to package instructions, deduct 1 minute of cook time to achieve the texture of a little shy from al dente (a.k.a. still have a bite to it). 

While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.  In a large skillet (with fitted lid), heat over high heat and add the olive oil.  Sauté the shallots and garlic together until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the white wine and cook until the liquid reduced by half.  Then, add the seafood stock and clams.  Cover and cook until the clams open up.

I usually remove the clams that are opened and place them in a large bowl so they don’t overcooked.  Some might take longer than the rest.  If some of the clams didn't open, give them a slight tap and they usually will.  Toss out any clams that do not open at all.  Those are probably dead and not safe for consumption. 

When all the clams are cooked and removed from the pan, continue to cook the sauce until the liquid reduced by half.  While the sauce is cooking, reserve 1/4 of the clams in the shells for garnish.  Remove the clam meats from the remaining clams, set aside and discard the shells.   

Then, toss in cooked spaghetti, clam meats, and cook for a minute.  Then season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

Place spaghetti on serving plates and garnish the sides with reserved clams in shells and a wedge of lemon.  Serve hot and enjoy!

*** Amy’s Tips:  To remove the sands from the clams, submerge the clams in a large bowl of cold water, covered by an inch.  Stir in a tablespoon of all purpose flour and wait for 2 hours.  The clams will spit out all the sands.  Then, brush the outer shells with a toothbrush or food brush.  Toss out any open clams that do not close up when you press it.  Those are the dead ones and not suitable for consumption.


Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce   Recipe from @utry.it

21 comments:

  1. I remember those clams!! My mom used to make the soup with them in the summer time...if they were big enough, then a stir-fry with ginger and chilli would be on our dinner table. Your pasta looks so delicious!

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    1. Oh...stir-fry clams with ginger and chili sounds amazing. I probably can finish a couple of pounds all by myself.

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  2. Hi Amy , what a wonderful dish , I will bookmark it to make . Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Thank you, need. Hope you'll give this a try soon. it's amazing!

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  3. I love that your kids have such adventurous palettes! We're trying to introduce Little Man to new foods. He already like spaghetti so I figure clams are the next step :)

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    1. :) I guess that's because I feed the kids whatever we (the grown ups) eat. If they don't like a certain things after they try. Then we know the next time. I'm just glad that they are usually happy to try everything.

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  4. This dish musy be very tasty. It is difficult to get live clams here so I seldom get to eat clams.

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    1. Oh...sorry you don't get live clams there. It's not the most convenience thing here in the States as well. But I know most Chinese supermarkets have them, live clams, live lobsters, live fish, shrimps, crabs, etc. I guess we really like our seafood here. :P

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  5. Delicious, no doubt one of my favourite dishes :))
    Have a nice weekend!

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    1. Thank you. Glad you love this dish too. :)

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  6. Looks delicious! I love clams with pasta. Your purple clams look so pretty! I should get some of those. :)
    Instead of flour, I just use salt and add a few ice cubes to get the clams split out sands. It works pretty well!

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    1. Oh...I'll give the salt and ice cube trick a try next time. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  7. Hi Amy! First, your photos are amazing! Second, thanks for the tip, we have to try the flour thing to get rid of the sand. It's funny, we make this dish often, and yet never thought of posting it, until now, thanks for the reminder! This recipe is amazing!

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    1. I know...I've been cooking this dish for the longest time but haven't write a post about it until now. Actually, there were many dishes were like that. Sometimes, I'm just to busy in the cooking process and wanted to enjoy dinner while the food is still hot! :) That's mainly why some wonderful recipes haven't turn into a blog post yet.

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  8. Even though I've never tried clams before I'd be more than willing to try this! And I can't believe how easy it is to prepare! Love your photos as well. :)

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    1. Thank you, Ruby. Oh...hope you'll give this a try soon. It's really delicious.

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  9. I'm going to entirely ignore how good the food looks like and get to the part about the cutlery. They are beautiful!! where did you get them from??

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    1. Thank you. :) Here are the links to the cutlery sets:
      1) the bamboo ones
      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LEOGCS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005LEOGCS&linkCode=as2&tag=a0464-20&linkId=OKL7KNZBMLDW7UQD

      2) The one with the black handles
      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000C1E8B/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000C1E8B&linkCode=as2&tag=a0464-20&linkId=EPO6IGIL5WVIJBM2

      I also post the links at the end of my post. :) These 2 sets are my favorites.

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    2. that is my favourite pasta. with lots of clams and garlic.

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