dear fellow crumbsnatchers,
do you ever look at an open clam and think it's smiling back at you? i do. and my stomach smiles too. i've been cooking family meals since i was 12 years old. after retiring from the air force, my dad would drive four hours roundtrip daily to work as a biomedical engineer. so after <insert sport> practice, it was my job to come home and cook dinner so it would be ready for when my dad came home. after we ate together, my sister's job was washing the dishes since she was too young to be trusted with the stove or oven.
i'm not surprised my life was full of routines. after all, my dad was career military. we spent sunday afternoons at the commissary to get the week's groceries. we also would spend time on base swimming at the outdoor pool in the summers and the indoor "bubble" pool in the winters. but the best part of the weekend was calling my yia-yia for our weekly call. those calls were a big deal because back then, it was considered a long distance call and we were charged by the minute. for those of you who know me, you know i love to talk on the phone, but especially to my yia-yia or dad. i mean the only time i got in trouble in grade school was for talking too much. i swear i spent most of kindergarten and first grade in timeout.
the weekend also meant that my dad would cook. his signature dish was linguine and clam sauce, which was also one of my yia-yia's recipes. colavita extra virgin olive oil, canned clams, butter and lots of garlic and parsley over linguine - a simple recipe but always seemed like a treat when my dad would make it.
it's extremely rare for my family to visit me since i moved to the midwest. with one sister in minnesota and the other sister in texas, the rest of my dad's family is located on the east coast in pennsylvania or virginia. so when my aunt and cousin told me they would stop for dinner on their way through indianapolis five years ago, i asked what they would like me to cook. i gave them some options and ultimately they selected linguine and clam sauce. little did they know, that would also be the first meal i would cook for the manfriend too. like a cruise ship's dinner service, my aunt and cousin stopped by for an early dinner seating and the manfriend came over for a late dinner seating. you may think it's odd that i hosted different seating times but my aunt and cousin had to get on the road to get to their final destination before it got too dark and the manfriend was working late on a construction site. the rest is history.
so that's what i did five years ago to win the heart of the manfriend. i made a more sophisticated version of my dad's linguine and clam sauce - adding fresh clams, white wine and red pepper flakes. on the eve of our 5-year anniversary, i decided to recreate the original dish that brought us together for dinner. happy anniversary, robbie!
linguine and clam sauce recipe
crumb confession: i didn't know you need to clean fresh clams. my dad used canned clams, juice and all, and dumped them into a saucepan. there was no need to clean clams. so when i took my first bite full of grit, i quickly realized i missed a very important step when cooking fresh clams. thank goodness i learned this step before making this dish for others. but don't worry, cleaning clams is simple as 1-2-3.
rinse clams with cold water and scrub the shells.
place rinsed clams in a bowl of cold water and a healthy dose of salt and let sit for at least 30 minutes. repeat soak at least once.
lift clams out of water with slotted spoon and place in a colander. rinse with cold water.
now that your clams are clean, you can start cooking one of my favorite pasta dishes that will always remind me of my dad, manfriend and family.
cuisine: italian
prep time: 60 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
serves: 4-6
ingredients
36-48 littleneck clams, cleaned
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbs red pepper flakes, optional
1 cup pinot grigio
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb linguine pasta
1 cup pasta water
directions
fill large pot with water and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. add pasta and cook according to package directions.
while the pasta is cooking, heat oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. make sure you use a skillet with a lid. add red pepper flakes and garlic until fragrant.
add wine, lemon juice and clams to skillet. cover and cook until clams open, usually takes 5-7 minutes. discard any clams that do not open.
using a glass liquid measure, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. add pasta water and butter to skillet and stir.
add drained pasta to skillet and toss until coated. add salt and pepper, to taste.
toss with parsley and serve.
i love serving this dish with a garden salad and warm bread. to make tonight extra special, i made a homemade sesame-crusted italian loaf, where we lathered fresh-from-the-oven slices with butter and sop up all that sauce. i recommend the brown eyed baker's italian bread recipe here. you'll want to make it with bread flour and sesame seeds and bake it with the water bath. this bread is a balance between a soft inside and crusty outside for the perfect bite.
sometimes i wish my dad could have met the manfriend. if anything, i know they would have enjoyed eating together. i'd like to think that my dad was with me in the kitchen tonight.
love and crumbs,
christina & gypsie
p.s. did you make this recipe? be sure to drop us a crumb on instagram at @crumbsforgypsie and hashtag it #crumbsforgypsie.
recommended equipment
here's a list of items we love to use for this recipe that contain affiliate links: