Linguine with Clams

We start by heating a large pot of water for the pasta. In a large saute pan, we add half of the olive oil and the smashed garlic and place over medium-low heat. When the garlic is fragrant and golden, we add the wine, juice from the 2 cans of clams, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. We raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Then we lower the heat and simmer gently for a few minutes while we scrub the clams.

We take the clams out of the fridge and scrub under cold water. We check to make sure all the clams are closed and the shells are not broken. One of the clams is a little open so we tap it on the sink and are happy to see it close as we set it down with the others.

Meanwhile, when the pot of water is almost to a boil, we add the clams to the simmering sauce and cover. We shake the pan every so often. Clams take a while to open, some take about 10 minutes, so we check often by lifting the lid. As soon as a clam opens, we remove it with our tongs to a clean bowl.

As soon as the pasta pot is boiling, we add the linguine and some salt and stir. We cook according to the package directions.

When all the clams are open, we strain the liquid in the pan through a fine mesh strainer into a large measuring cup. We wipe out the pan and then add the remaining olive oil and minced garlic. We cook over medium heat until the garlic is golden, and then we add the liquid from the measuring cup, pouring carefully to be sure that so sand that may have sunk to the bottom of the measuring cup gets in the pan.

The pasta is done, so we drain it (reserving some pasta water for the sauce if needed). We add the linguine to the clam sauce along with half the parsley, the canned chopped clams and the juice from the half of lemon. We taste for salt and pepper and add some freshly ground black pepper. We top each portion with the reserved cooked fresh clams. We sprinkle on some additional parsley and red pepper flakes.