How to Cook Linguini with Clam Sauce Recipe

What's there to say about this Italian-American classic other than, "red or white?" Linguini with clam sauce comes in either a red tomato-based version, or a white version with cream or white wine. Today we present to you a red version, with a tomato-based, clam-juice infused sauce, dressed up with some fennel and a little dash of anise liqueur. Why the licorice note from the fennel and anise? Trust me. It just goes well with tomato sauce and seafood.

Funny thing, my dad hates, and I mean truly despises, licorice. But he gobbles down Italian sausage like there's no tomorrow, and the defining spice in sweet Italian sausage is fennel seed. Certain flavors just enhance others, and in this case the licorice flavor from the fennel and anise liqueur makes the clam sauce sparkle. (By the way, you can skip the liqueur if you want, you'll just have a more subtle licorice note from the fennel.

Linguini with Clam Sauce Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes

Scrub the clams in the shell well with cold water to remove any grit sticking to the shells. If you have any clams whose shells remain open after you've rinsed them, set them on the counter and tap them; if the shell closes in a minute or two, the clam is alive, if not, it's dead and you'll want to discard it.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds small clams in the shell, scrubbed clean
• 1 15-ounce can of whole baby clams
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 small or 1/2 large fennel bulb, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped (4 teaspoons)
• 1/3 cup ouzo, Sambuca, Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur (optional)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• Salt
• Fronds from the fennel bulb, minced
• Linguini (can sub any long shaped pasta, like spaghetti or fettuccine)

METHOD

1 Open the can of clams and strain the juice through a paper-towel-lined fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Set both the juice and the clams aside.

2 Heat the olive oil in a large pot or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and fennel bulb and sprinkle with a little salt. Stir well and sauté until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Don't brown them. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another minute.

3 Add the ouzo (if you're using) to the pan and let it boil down until it's almost completely evaporated. Add the tomato paste and stir well to coat the vegetables. Cook for a minute or two.

4 Add the crushed tomatoes and the clam juice (strained from the can of clams) to the pot, along with a sprinkling of salt and the sugar. Stir well, turn the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes. While the tomato sauce is cooking, heat a large pot of salted water for the pasta.

If you would like a smooth sauce instead of chunky, ladle the sauce into a blender and purée it until smooth, then return to the pot.

5 When the pasta water comes to a boil, start cooking the linguini pasta. Add the clams in the shell to the sauce pot. Submerge the clams in the sauce. Increase the sauce pot's temperature up to a low boil or a strong simmer. It should take 3-5 minutes for all the clams to open. As the clams open, remove them to a bowl. Remove the clam meat from all but a few of the shells which you will want to save for a garnish. (Or keep the clam meat in the shells, your choice, we just find the dish easier to eat if most of the clams are already out of the shells.)

6 When the pasta is ready, drain it and put it in a large bowl. Add the canned clams to the pasta sauce and return the formerly live clams to the sauce as well. Add the chopped fennel fronds and stir to combine.

To serve, ladle some sauce into the bowl with the pasta and mix well to combine. Use tongs to put some pasta on each plate, add a small spoonful of clam sauce on top and garnish with a few of the clams that are still in the shell. Serve at once.

Yield: Serves 6-8.