Linguini and Clams with Summer Tomatoes

Hello and welcome to Sunday Supper on Djalali Cooks! Today I have a great recipe that reminds me of dining al fresco at some cute little cafe in San Francisco’s North beach. Tomato and seafood pasta always reminds me of San Francisco’s Italian neighborhood and summer days spent walking to Fisherman’s Wharf from my downtown apartment, stopping in North Beach for a bite on the way home… I went with canned clams for this recipe, but you can easily do it with fresh clams in the shell if you can find good, fresh clams. Ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden, a little white wine, garlic, and shallots is the basic sauce for this Linguini and Clams with Summer Tomatoes; fresh parsley and lemon finish it off. Let’s do it!

Easy Tomato and Clam Sauce

Before I even start the prep and sauce, I like to get a pot with water boiling for the pasta. I am making 8 ounces of linguini, which is half a package. I have about 3 quarts of salted water covered, and set to boil. When it comes to a boil, just reduce the heat to low and we can bring it back up to a boil when the sauce is just about ready.

I have my garden’s variety of tomatoes: Lemon Boys, Roma, and Purple Cherokees. I like the variety of color, but go with whatever ripe tomatoes you like. Dice the tomatoes into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces. Thinly slice up a couple shallots and mince 3-6 cloves of garlic. Go with as much garlic as you like. I like this broth/sauce to be pretty garlicky, so I went with about 6 small to medium-sized cloves.

Strain two, 6.5 ounce cans of chopped clams, letting the juice drain into a measuring cup – it’s up to you, but adding some of the juice during cooking give this sauce a little more briny flavor. I really like Bar Harbor chopped sea clams because the chunks of clams vary in size which adds a nice texture. Then, we have about 1/4 cup of dry white wine.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Then add the diced tomatoes. Let the tomatoes cook for a couple minutes, then add the shallots and a pinch of Kosher salt. Stir and cook for about 4 minutes. Then add the garlic. Stir to combine and let this simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the white wine and continue to let simmer for another 5 minutes. Then add the chopped clams and 2-3 tablespoons of clam liquid. If you want to add some spice, add a pinch of red pepper flakes. At this point, bring your hot water for the linguini back up to boil. Let the sauce simmer for another 5-8 minutes, until the juices have reduced a little. When a spatula run through the sauce makes a trail, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook the linguini.

Taste the sauce for seasoning. Add more Kosher salt if needed.

Linguini!

Cook the 8 ounces of linguini, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 10 minutes, or until just al dente.

I like to use tongs to transfer the al dente noodles to the sauce. Once they’re all in the sauce, squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the pasta and stir to coat the noodles in the sauce. Then, add the chopped parsley and stir again to incorporate.

Plate up individual portions of the pasta into wide shallow bowls. Scoop a little extra sauce for each bowl. Top with fresh grated parmesan, cracked black pepper and more red pepper flakes, if you like.

This Linguini and Clams with Summer Tomatoes is so fresh and light! Wonderful, satisfying texture from the linguini and the tender/chewy chopped clams. The tomatoes are bright and acidic, while the wine and garlic really come through. You can skip the grated Parm, but the little bit of salty, umami richness is a nice contrast.

Thank you all so much for spending some of your Sunday with me, I hope you have a great week ahead! If you’re interested in another great pasta dish for summer, check out my Roasted Summer Vegetable Rigatoni. Remember to give me a follow on Pinterest or Instagram! Take care and be well everyone, see you tomorrow. xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Linguini and Clams with Summer Tomatoes

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 10 Minutes – Cooking Time: 30 Minutes – Total Time: 40 Minutes

This Linguini and Clams with Summer Tomatoes is so fresh and light! White wine and garlic with briny clams and chewy al dente linguini.

Ingredients

• 6-7 Medium to Large Ripe Tomatoes (use a combination of types, if you can), diced (totaling about 2 cups diced tomatoes)
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 Small Shallots, thinly sliced
• Pinch of Kosher Salt (plus more to taste)
• 3-6 Cloves of Garlic, minced (use as much or as little garlic as you like)
• 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
• 2 6.5-oz. Cans of Chopped Sea Clams, drained, can juices reserved
• Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes (plus more to taste)
• 8 oz. Linguini (half a 1lb. package)
• Juice of Half a Lemon
• 1/4-1/3 cup Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley, plus more as garnish
• Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Grated Parmesan, for garnish

Instructions

1

Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot, covered. Reduce heat to low when it begins to boil.

2

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.

3

Add the diced tomatoes. Let the tomatoes cook for a couple minutes, then add the shallots and a pinch of Kosher salt. Stir and cook for about 4 minutes.

4

Add the minced garlic. Stir to combine and let this simmer for about 5 minutes.

5

Add the white wine and continue to let simmer for another 5 minutes.

6

Then add the chopped clams and 2-3 tablespoons of clam liquid. If you want to add some spice, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

7

At this point, bring your hot water for the linguini back up to boil.

8

Let the sauce continue simmering for another 5-8 minutes, until the juices have reduced a little. When a spatula run through the sauce makes a trail, reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add more Kosher salt or red pepper flakes, if needed.

9

Put the dry linguini in the now boiling water. cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Boil the linguini for 10 minutes, or until just al dente.

10

Using kitchen tongs, transfer the cooked linguini to the pan with the tomato and clam sauce.

11

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the linguini and stir to coat the noodles in the sauce.

12

Add the chopped parsley and stir again to incorporate.

13

Serve in shallow wide bowls, Spoon extra sauce over each portion and top with more parsley, fresh cracked black pepper and grated parmesan.

Notes

If you use fresh clams in their shells (instead of canned chopped clam meat), In step 8, add the clams to the pan and cover. Simmer until the clam shells are open, 7-9 minutes. Transfer the opened clams to a separate dish and proceed with the rest of the recipe. When it's time to serve, plate the linguini and add desired number of clams to each serving.