Uncle R’s clam spaghetti

As soon as I first tasted my uncle’s clam spaghetti, I was immediately hooked.  It became one of my favorite dishes, and I’m always excited when he makes it for a birthday dinner or just because.

I’ve always meant to try it for myself – here we go!

The key to good clam spaghetti, of course, is the clams – fresh and cooked well.  Littlenecks are best, not too big and not too small.  I got mine at Central Market, the fantastic grocery store in Ft Worth – they had just come in and were beautiful.

First, remove any clams that are open and won’t close after you tap them (they’re dead), or any with badly broken shells.   Put the rest in a large bowl, covered with cold water, then add a few spoonfuls of flour and put the bowl in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.  The clams will filter in the flour and spit out any sand (this may be an old wives’ tale, and it’s probably unnecessary anyway since most clams are farmed these days, but it’s kind of fun to do things the old fashioned way).

Then rinse them – I gave them a light scrub, too – and steam in a large pot with a little water.  This will yield about a cup of wonderfully briny clam liquid that forms the basis of the pasta sauce along with plenty of butter, olive oil, and garlic.

Once the sauce is made, the rest of the assembly is easy.  Add a little chopped parsley for freshness and color, make the spaghetti, toss it all together, and presto, delicious!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.  Yum.

***

Clam spaghetti

4 dozen clams
1/2 cup olive oil
1 stick salted butter
8 cloves garlic, put through press
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 1/2 lb spaghetti noodles
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Prepare clams as described above.

Add 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water to a large pan and bring to boil. Drain and rinse clams and add to pan, then cover and cook for a couple of minutes. As soon as they start to open, remove them one by one to a large bowl. Discard any clams that do not open. Reserve cooking liquid.

Remove clams from shells and set aside in small dish. Discard shells, reserving remaining liquid.

Heat oil and butter over medium heat until melted. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until garlic is just softened – do not let it brown.

Carefully add reserved clam liquid, ensuring that no sand goes into the sauce (stop pouring before all the liquid goes in). Bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until the clam liquid has completely evaporated.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in well-salted water until al dente. Just before it’s done, add clams and chopped parsley to sauce and stir briefly to incorporate. If desired, add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes to taste (or serve at table).

Drain spaghetti and add to sauce, mixing until well covered.

Serves 4 generously.