# Roch's Spaghetti and Clam Sauce



## Rocklobster (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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


----------



## taxlady (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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


----------



## taxlady (May 11, 2014)

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


----------



## pacanis (May 11, 2014)

Nice job. It looks great.


----------



## taxlady (May 11, 2014)

Yup, nice pix. Nice tutorial.


----------



## Dawgluver (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 11, 2014)

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 (May 12, 2014)

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 (May 12, 2014)

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 (May 12, 2014)

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 (May 12, 2014)

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 (May 12, 2014)

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 (May 12, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> 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 (May 12, 2014)

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.


----------



## dcSaute (May 12, 2014)

wow - a serious beefed up "pasta salad" thingie - on my list!

if you've got a clammy GF, try this one:

shrimp & clam white sauce over linguini
start heating the pasta cook water...

fresh/thawed shrimp; peeled; chopped into half bite size
for two, roughly 10-12 in the medium size
open & drain, reserving the juice, two 6.5 ounce cans of chopped clams.
chopped, not diced, not minced , not whole -  chopped clams.
(original recipe calls for one can; insufficiently clammy.....)

make a roux.  for 2: 3 TB flour 3 TB butter
lightly brown the roux, add finely diced leek, cook lightly
add some milk/heavy or light cream to a medium heavy sauce - cream does better but calories count . . . 
add 2 tsp dry mustard
a dash to heavy pinch of cayenne, depending on how youse does hot.
(now is the time to plunk the linguini in the pot - 12 minutes for dried)
add clam juice, whisk, increase heat to very soft boil 
add milk / cream to the desired end sauce consistency.
if you run out of cream, use water (SShHHH!)
add shrimp - at a mild simmer in the sauce they'll take 4-6 minutes to cook
add clams - they're cooked already - don't overdo 'em=rubberized clams

garnish with anything green you please - parsley to scallion tops
fresh grated parm as desired.


----------



## Addie (May 12, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> 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.



I don't like any clams served in the shell. It means sand on the rest of my food.


----------



## CWS4322 (May 12, 2014)

I tend to add smoked clams (when I can find them) when I make pasta with clam sauce, I do the same when I make clam chowder, being landlocked, one does what one must. I always make white sauce, but do not make a roux--so it is with the clam broth and white wine.  I sometimes add fresh shelled peas. Which reminds me, I have all the ingredients for this except the peas, but could probably hold off another week for the asparagus to come up and add that...maybe I'll make it this weekend with homemade linguini...when a grad student in New Brunswick, I had to bring oysters home for Christmas...the one and only time I've shucked oysters in my life. Didn't have the proper knife--they were very good, but I tend to pass on the oysters when at the fish market.


----------



## Addie (May 12, 2014)

Yes, there is a special knife for oysters. It makes the job so much easier.

I love the idea of adding peas or asparagus to the pasta with clams. Even both. Why not? Two of my favorite veggies.


----------

