Linguine with clams is one of those dishes that you think you can only get when you go out to eat at your favorite seafood or Italian restaurant. And that couldn’t be further from the truth, it’s actually one of the easiest, most affordable pasta dishes you can make in your home kitchen.
Don’t let cooking seafood like clams or mussels be intimidating, I promise they are incredibly easy to cook, and after your first time making this delicious dish, you’ll wonder what took you so long!
The prep takes no time at all, with so few ingredients. The only real work is rinsing the clams, and that’s not much work at all. The meal can be on your table in less than 30 minutes.
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE CLAMS AND Linguine?
The list of ingredients is pretty short.
- littleneck clams
- olive oil
- garlic cloves
- crushed red pepper flakes
- dry white wine (like pinot grigio)
- fresh basil
- linguine
- sea salt
- black pepper
Bags of farm-raised littlenecks are readily available in most grocery stores in this area, so they are easy enough to find, and a bag of 50-60 usually runs around $ 25.00. Add in a pound of linguine and a special dinner for two just became very affordable!
Chef Dennis Tip:
Don’t overuse garlic for this dish!! My first time eating clams and linguine in Italy I was amazed at how little garlic was actually in the dish, most novice cooks think that lots of garlic is needed for this type of dish and most Italian cooking, and that is not true.
What Types of Clams should I use?
For clams and linguine the smaller the clam the better. For appearance and tenderness of the clam. The larger the clam the tougher the meat. These are my choices.
- Countneck Clams (also known as pasta clams)
- Littleneck Clams
- Topneck Clams
- Steamers (also known as soft shell clams and Ipswich clams)
- Manilla Clams (found on the west coast of the US and Japan)
- Chopped Clams (frozen or canned) I don’t recommend canned clams but if that’s you’re only option they will work.
If you have leftover clams, you can use them up in my tasty clams casino recipe.
How do you cook Clams and Linguine?
The first step is to rinse the clams thoroughly in cold clean water. I let them soak in the water using a colander. Then dump out the water and repeat the process 5 times or until the water is clear and free of sand and debris.
*If any of the clams are open, they are dead and must be discarded.
This is an important part of the recipe to ensure your clams and linguine is sand-free. Clams burrow themselves in the sand and washing them well can get rid of the grit you don’t want in your dinner.
Chef Dennis Tip:
One very important thing to remember about clams is that they come in a mesh bag for a reason, so they can breathe. If you place them in a plastic bag to get them home, remove them from the bag immediately when you get home and place them in a bowl uncovered in the refrigerator. The cold might open some of the clams, but they will close if they are not dead when you move them around.
- Place a large saute pan ( or small stockpot) on the stove and add the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Allow the garlic to cook a little and become fragrant.
- Add the clams, basil, and a splash of white wine to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid allowing the clams to steam open, about 7-8 minutes.
HOW DO I KNOW THE CLAMS ARE COOKED?
Once the clams have all opened they are fully cooked. Keep the clams covered until ready to serve.
If the clams don’t open they still be okay, but just a warning, every now and then you get a mudder. A clam packed with mud from the seabed. Don’t open them over your pasta, I speak from experience. If it is a good clam, you can add it.
Timing is everything with this dish
First of all start your pot of water for the pasta heating up, while the water is coming to a boil get out your clams and wash them off in cold water.
This is the time for you to inspect your clams, an open clam is a dead clam, (if you tap it and it closes it’s just trying to fool you) so discard any open clams. If a clam gets broken by miss handling it will die and it will smell…..this does not mean all the clams are bad but it will impart an odor to the rest of the clams, just rinse them well in cold water.
What to serve with Linguine and Clams?
I like serving a nice tossed salad with this dish. A Ceasar salad can also be served, but that adds more garlic to the dinner and can detract from the overall experience.
Good crusty bread is a necessity, using it to sop up the juices from the dish is highly recommended! And of course, a nice glass of the white wine you used to make this dish will be a perfect accompaniment.
I know that purists will tell you that you Never put cheese on seafood, but it’s what you enjoy and how you like to eat. If you like grated cheese like we do, then add it on and enjoy your meal.
Recipe FAQ’s
The only real difference between linguine and spaghetti is that linguine is a flat and slightly wider noodle, while spaghetti is a round noodle.
Spaghetti is generally used with tomato sauces, while linguine is used for seafood and pesto dishes.
My first choice would always be fresh clams for this classic dish. Frozen chopped clams or canned chopped clams can be used if fresh clams cannot be sourced.
That is a personal preference, but served in restaurants clams are never removed from the shell because they add to the appearance of the dish, add volume and can be served while hot. Picking the clams out of the shells takes time and you’ll reheat the sauce which can toughen the clam meat.
My first choice of clam and linguine are littleneck clams. They are small enough to be tender but not as small as pasta clams. Depending upon where you live other varieties can be used manilla clams and steamer clams (Ipswich) are also great choices.
More Shellfish Recipes You’ll Love!
Linguine with Clams in a white wine sauce
Ingredients
- ⅔ lb linguine (De Cecco, Del Verde, or Barilla)
- 2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 bag little neck clams (bag of 50 or at least 15 clams per person)
- 1 ounce dry white wine optional
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Basil chopped
- 1 pinch Black Pepper
- grated Romano Cheese to serve with pasta
Instructions
- place large stock pot on stove to cook pasta per directions on the box (aldente is always best)
- Finely chop parsley and basil, set aside
- Slice garlic cloves
- Rinse clams in cold water checking to make sure they are all closed, or that they will close when tapped. If they are open they are dead..do not use them!Rinse the clams until you don't see much sediment in the water.
- As soon as the pasta water is ready add the pasta and set your timer per instructions.
- Place a large saute pan on the stove and add the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes
- Briefly sautee the garlic then add the clams, basil, and splash of white wine to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid allowing the clams to steam open, about 7-8 minutes.
- If you have timed this correctly the clams will open with about two minutes to spare on the pasta, turn off the heat on the clams and keep covered until serving.
- Add a large spoonful of the pasta water to the clams, then drain the pasta. Divide the pasta into serving bowls and divide the clams and sauce between them.
- sprinkle fresh chopped parsley on top of the clams and serve with grated romano cheese.
Jackie
Chef Dennis,
One of my favorite meals is linguine with clams!! I’m printing this recipe and making it for the family. Yr such an inspiration.
Jackie
Cucina49
Linguine with clams is one of my favorite Italian dishes–yours looks wonderful! I am so in denial about bloggers literally copying each other–it seems inconceivable that someone could think that is right.
Kiri W.
What a lovely dish – I adore this! I definitely can relate to the prep work not being very fun.
Chris and Amy
OOOOhhhh….yum. Love love love linguine with clams. And this sounds (and looks) like the perfect recipe for it.
Jean (Lemons and Anchovies)
This is one of my favorite dishes to eat, no question. Love the simplicity of preparation, the clam flavor really shines. You’ve got me craving this now and i just had it for dinner last weekend. 🙂
Always great to read your ask Chef Dennis section. 🙂
RavieNomNoms
I am so jealous that you have Wegmans near you! I miss that place SO much now that I am in CT. They always had the most amazing things there and such selection!
Your linguine looks great! I cannot say I am a fan of clams, but I know Patrick would LOVE this!
Susan
You know? I was just having a conversation about crediting fellow bloggers, cookbooks, etc with my brother. I do try to be scrupulous about ‘giving credit where it’s due’ but I do know that I have slipped sometimes. Copying photos is more a concern with me … it amazes me that something so visiual would be ripped off. I don’t copyright any of my images , but I just wish folks would credit or ask permission more often when they lift images for their own use…
As for the linguine and clams … I used to make mine with chopped clams when the kids were small. Now, that they’re out on their own, my husband and I have graduated to the good stuff in the shells! Haha! great post, Chef D!
Emily @ Life on Food
Oh the olive oil and clams in that photo is drool worthy. I didn’t have this dish till a few years ago when I first move to Connecticut and every other restaurant is Italian. They really know how to do pasta and seafood. Great dish!
Alyssa
wonderful pasta! My husband loves clams so I’ll keep this one fora special meal for him. Yet another insightful ask Chef Dennis! It’s hard to hear that’s it’s not just new bloggers doing this. It’s easy to think most who plagiarize just don’t know any better. You have done a wonderful job setting up this watch
Jeanette
This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes when we eat out. Hopefully, with more awareness and bloggers supporting each other, we will all be able to make a dent, even a small one on reducing the number of photos used without permission.
Jenny @ Savour the Senses
I have never had linguine with clams but being in Hawaii I think is the perfect place to try! This sounds so delicious!
Kristina
WOW, Dennis – that pinteresting article you shared is… interesting. (ha.)
actually, it’s scary. I would certainly not want to be involved in a lawsuit for pinning something. this will be something to think about, for sure.
thank you, as always, for this info and for all you do.
this recipe sounds delicious, and the photos are stunning!
Kim - Liv Life
I adore linguine and clams!!! I have to admit that I’ve never made it myself though… but you make it seem easy enough that I just may have to give it a try.
Thanks as always for another wonderful post Dennis. I have a couple of friends who are new to blogging and I’ve sent them to Chef Dennis 101 for some comprehensive info. Thank you for all you do for us!
And your photo… Wow!! Simply beautiful!!
Brian @ A Thought For Food
Amen, Dennis! Amen! I agree with everything you say here.
Also, I think linguine with clam sauce may be my favorite too. It’s something I could eat every day.
Foodness Gracious
Linguine and clams is one of my 6 year old daughters favorite dinners, she will eat the whole bag of clams if I let her which I sometimes more or less do 🙂 Chef I have a question, If you guest posted on someones blog and then they posted the picture you attatched to your guest post on to Tastespotting under their blog name, whats your thoughts on that?
Thanks again..
Kristina
this is Kristina (Dennis I hope you don’t mind me getting in this conversation!).
this has happened to me a couple times, someone posting my photos to tastespotting, etc. the first time I noticed it, it was from a guest post. I contacted the person I posted for and told her I contacted tastespotting to have it removed (most of these sites say the photo should be your own).
she apologized and said she didn’t know… she was only “trying to get my post more coverage” … tastespotting and all other sites have always removed my photos from other peoples galleries at my request.
and now when I am asked to guest post, I tell them they cannot submit my photos to these sites, because I will be doing so (and because they are not their photos). 🙂
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious
Sound advice Kristina, I think that’s the way to go. Thanks for your input!!
Rogerxcohn
I already made it and it was delicious!
Chef D
I think Kristina explained it perfectly, and it does come down to sites accepting images that do not belong to the person submitting them. It would be fine for you to submit it and have it redirect to your guest post, but you were nice enough to do a guest post and now the blog owner is trying to get even more from you, by sending your images to foodporn sites so they can get more hits…..that’t not right!