I get asked allll the time what my favorite thing to make and eat is and my answer is always the same….Clams & Spaghetti. To be honest, I don't make it exactly the same every time. It depends on how sandy the clams are and how much time I have. Tonight the clams weren't sandy at all. I was starving so here's how I made it tonight and it was so f$&%ing good!!
I'm not going to do measurements because I just cooked for myself and the amount of seasonings, clams, pasta depends on your preference and how many people you're cooking for. But, here's an easy to follow method you can adapt to on your own:
- rinse clams
- smash a bunch of garlic cloves and sauté in a large pot with olive oil, crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning
- sauté for a minute (do not burn the garlic!!)
- squeeze in 2 lemons, toss the whole lemon in there after squeezing
- pour at least 2 cups of water (I ended up using 4 cups because my pot was so big. Also, normally I do half water and half white wine but I didn't have any wine on hand
- bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, cover
- in a separate pot, cook some pasta, drain and set aside (I always reserve 1 cup of pasta water in case I need it but I didn't need it tonight)
- after the lemony garlic broth simmers for at least 15-20 minutes, add the clams in (make sure the water is boiling so that the clams don't suffer 60)
- after all the clams open, add in some butter and spaghetti, stir until combined
That's pretty much it! I top mine with parsley, basil & extra lemons.
The broth is amazing so def have some good crusty bread in hand.