Bucatini With Red Clam Sauce

Total Time: 30 minutes


Kosher salt
4 dozen hard-shell clams, scrubbed and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for pasta
4 garlic cloves, slivered
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound bucatini or thick spaghetti
2 cups thick tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Hot red pepper flakes or Turkish maras pepper (optional).



1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of salt.
2. Take about half the clams, choosing the largest ones, and put them in a wide skillet with a lid.
Add olive oil, turn heat to high, cover, and cook until clams pop open and release liquid, about 3
minutes. Reduce heat to low, remove clams, and add garlic to liquid in pan. Add a few grinds of
pepper and cook, stirring, until garlic is softened and golden. Remove cooked clams from shells,
coarsely chop meat, and add back to skillet. Stir. (Empty shells can be discarded.)
3. Add bucatini to boiling water, stir, and bring back to a boil.
4. Add remaining clams to skillet, cover, and raise heat to high. When clams open, about 3 minutes,
stir in tomato sauce and half the parsley. Stir, cover, and reduce heat to very low.
5. When pasta is cooked, drain, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with black pepper. Add pasta
to skillet with clams, sprinkle with pepper flakes, and toss until well combined. Sprinkle with
remaining parsley and serve in skillet. Yield: 4 servings.

Source: August 31, 2010, New York Times
Adapted from Steve Johnson, Rendezvous, Cambridge, Mass.