My husband loved this dish and I hated it. But you know what they say about acquired tastes and after a few tries my persistence paid off. Now I curse myself that I didn't enjoy this saucy, garlicky, comfort-y meal more often when I was younger and my metabolism was a little less sloth-like than it is today.
This is not Michael's version, but the basics are there and it's SUBLIME. Oh and hey, guess what bitches?? It's super fast too. Now it's become my go-to meal when someone arrives unexpectedly. I just always make sure my pantry has several tins of Snow's chopped clams, the best clams to use if you're not using fresh.
These days this dish is a calorie-and-fat splurge for The Dude and I. But every time we make it, we think of Michael and his family--and Con Von--with fondness and lots of love.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian)
8 garlic cloves, chopped
4 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce (It was impossible for me to find white wine Worcestershire sauce but regular Worcestershire will work beautifully here as well.)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound linguine, freshly cooked
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Method
Boil water for one lb. of linguine according to directions. Add salt but DO NOT add oil to the water; the oil seals the pasta and it won't absorb the delicious sauce. This recipe cooks quickly in just about the time it takes for the linguine to be done. Start cooking the parsley and the garlic and when you're ready to add the liquids to the parsley mixture, drop the linguine in the boiling water. Make sure your mise en place and your prep are done so the sauce will finish just in time to be added to the pasta.
Peel the garlic and chop, press, or do as I've done here and place it in a mini-prep (or mini-chop, whatever these mini processors are called).
Add Italian parsley.
Chop until the mixture looks like the photo below, a few pulses. Be careful, some mini-preps are horrible and can leave large pieces of food while pulverizing the rest. If yours is bad, just chop by hand; it's worth the extra step. I love my my machine; it's a GE and I hear Braun's is pretty darn good too.
Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped parsley and chopped garlic and sauté until garlic just begins to color, about 45 seconds.
Add reserved clam juices, whipping cream, dry white wine...
...Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper. You can reduce the white pepper and cayenne by as much as you'd like. This dish will be spicy but not excessively so.
Simmer until mixture is reduced to thin sauce consistency, about 10 minutes. If your pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot and cover while you finish the last step or two. It's almost there anyway so no need to panic. Just DON'T rinse the linguine. You'll wash away all the flavor of the pasta and render it watery. Note that this sauce is runny; that's fine, it will cling just perfectly to the pasta. You don't want thick and creamy and gloppy!
Add chopped clams ...
8 garlic cloves, chopped
4 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce (It was impossible for me to find white wine Worcestershire sauce but regular Worcestershire will work beautifully here as well.)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound linguine, freshly cooked
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Method
Boil water for one lb. of linguine according to directions. Add salt but DO NOT add oil to the water; the oil seals the pasta and it won't absorb the delicious sauce. This recipe cooks quickly in just about the time it takes for the linguine to be done. Start cooking the parsley and the garlic and when you're ready to add the liquids to the parsley mixture, drop the linguine in the boiling water. Make sure your mise en place and your prep are done so the sauce will finish just in time to be added to the pasta.
Peel the garlic and chop, press, or do as I've done here and place it in a mini-prep (or mini-chop, whatever these mini processors are called).
Add Italian parsley.
Chop until the mixture looks like the photo below, a few pulses. Be careful, some mini-preps are horrible and can leave large pieces of food while pulverizing the rest. If yours is bad, just chop by hand; it's worth the extra step. I love my my machine; it's a GE and I hear Braun's is pretty darn good too.
Add reserved clam juices, whipping cream, dry white wine...
...Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper. You can reduce the white pepper and cayenne by as much as you'd like. This dish will be spicy but not excessively so.
Simmer until mixture is reduced to thin sauce consistency, about 10 minutes. If your pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot and cover while you finish the last step or two. It's almost there anyway so no need to panic. Just DON'T rinse the linguine. You'll wash away all the flavor of the pasta and render it watery. Note that this sauce is runny; that's fine, it will cling just perfectly to the pasta. You don't want thick and creamy and gloppy!
Add chopped clams ...
...and freshly cooked linguine to pot and toss until sauce coats pasta thickly, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Top with a butt-load of fresh Parmesan cheese. (Please, please, please, avoid supermarket fake-Parmesan-in-a-green-can or pre-grated Parmesan, even if it's the "fresh-looking" kind. It's often not fresh and doesn't pack the punch of freshly grated.)
Serve with white wine and enjoy with good friends!
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