Clam linguine is a quick and very tasty classic pasta dish. This recipe is for the white sauce version – without the tomato sauce. It makes a perfect weekday supper.

Tips for preparing clams

  • When you get your clams home keep them in a cool place.
  • Before cooking, soak the clams for about 20 minutes in some fresh water. Clams are filter feeders as they breathe they filter the water and in the process salt water and sand will be expelled from their shells.
  • When the 20 minutes is up pull the clams from the container gently this will leave the expelled sand and any debris in the bottom of the container. If you have any clams that remain open when tapped discard them.

The quantities in this recipe are to feed 4 people – reduce the quantities and this dish will make a good starter. Allow about 30 minutes for the preparation and cooking (not including soaking time).

Ingredients for Clam Linguine

1kg fresh clams from Walter Purkis & Sons
1tbsp butter
Olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
175ml white wine
Bunch flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
Fresh red chilli finely chopped
Linguine
Finely chopped fresh tomato as garnish

Cooking Method For Clam Linguine

First melt the butter with a splash olive oil in a large pan (all ingredients will be cooked together in this) over a medium-low heat. Add in the chopped onion, garlic and chilli, cook for about 3 min or when you can see that the onion has become translucent. The aim here is to cook and soften not to brown.

Pour in the the glass of white wine and parsley stir, then add in the clams. Stir well and put a lid in the pan for about 5 min.

While the clams are cooking, cook the linguine according to the instructions on the pack and drain.

After the cooking time has elapsed remove the shells from half of the clams and return the clam meat to the pan (Throw away any clams that did not open), season with salt and pepper. Then stir into the linguine along with a little of the cooking liquor. Garnish with a some of the chopped parsley and chopped tomatoes. Serve right away.