Linguini & Clams with a Red Sauce & More

Very rarely do I make anything Italian but I had a thing of shredded Parmesan cheese in my fridge that needed to get used.

Olive oil

1/2 c. Chopped onion

1 Chopped shallot
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/4 c. Dry white wine
1/4 c. Tomato sauce
1 tsp. Dried whole basil

1 tsp. Dried Oregano
Fresh pressed garlic to taste (I used lots)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 (6.5 oz) cans whole baby clams, drained
8 oz. Whole wheat linguine (Follow the cooking directions on the package, that is what they are there for)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Coat a large pan with some olive oil and put it on a medium heat. Sautee the shallots and onions until tender. Add the next 8 ingredients. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat. Simmer this uncovered (I recommend using a splatter screen) for about 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to cook off some of the liquids so your sauce thickens and will stick to your linguini. Once the sauce has reached a desired consistency, add the clams. Simmer for a few more minutes. Serve over cooked linguini and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. 

This is like a 3 for one today. I served the linguini with a kind of a Capri salad and garlic Focaccia bread.

Capri (but not really)Salad

1 Package baby spinach (rinsed and drained)

1 Package cherry tomatoes

1 Ball of Mozzarella (cut or ripped into bite sized pieces)

Dried or fresh basil

Dried oregano

Balsamic reduction (store bought unless you want to make it…)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a big bowl. Serve in salad bowls. After salad is plated add some basil and oregano and drizzle with the Balsamic reduction.

Garlic Focaccia Bread

1 small loaf of Garlic Focaccia Bread

Lots of fresh pressed garlic (my Zyliss was getting some use yesterday)

Butter

Slice the Focaccia into 3rds lengthwise. Spread the pressed garlic onto the bread like butter. I like garlic so I went a little bit heavy handed. Add a few little pats of butter to the bread. Toast in a toaster oven until the bread/garlic starts to toast and turn brown. Serve with linguini.

Notes on all of this.

Next time I will make a few changes to this recipe. It is good but I can do better. First my herb garden is not ready yet. Hopefully next time it will be so I can use fresh herbs. Second thing I would change is to add more wine and reduce more. I think the wine got hidden in there. I may even try some Sherry to really get that flavor to come out. Finally I would add about half as many more clams. I like clams and there just were not enough for me.  But like I say about any of my recipes, have some fun, play with it and make it yours.

I also paired this with Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch beer. It is not so much that it goes with this, I mean it is a pretty stand up beer that can handle a red sauce, it is just that it is one of my favorite beers.