At this time of year as winter slowly gives way to spring, pasta dinners sound inviting. One of my standby recipes for an easy weeknight pasta is Linguine with Garlicky Clam Sauce. This colorful dish relies on pantry-friendly ingredients, so no trip to the seafood counter is necessary. And I’ve been making it for over 30 years.
These days a wide array of tinned fish and seafoods are available at grocery stores. Unlike the clams you buy at the fresh seafood counter, canned clams and bottled clam juice are shelf stable. I always buy canned clams in groups of 3 plus a bottle of clam juice to have on hand for making this sauce or clam chowder. Then when the time is right for cooking this dish, I have the elements I need.
A Clam Sauce Rich in Flavor
Linguine with Garlicky Clam Sauce, which I adapted from a recipe in the September 1990 issue of Bon Appétit, has layers of flavor in its white sauce.
The special sauce for this pasta starts with six large cloves of garlic. After briefly sautéing the minced garlic in a mixture of olive oil and butter, you add the core elements of what will become the deeply flavored sauce.
The juice drained from the canned clams, additional clam juice, and white wine create a base for the sauce. Finely chopped carrots and dried oregano season this mixture as it simmers on the stove. Meanwhile, you boil the pasta.
Finishing the Dish
The last step of creating the sauce is adding the reserved clam meat and finely chopped parsley to the skillet. Then the sauce is ready for the slightly-less-than-al-dente pasta. Tossing the linguine with the clam sauce and simmering everything together for a few minutes finishes cooking the pasta and marries all the flavors together.
While the finished clam sauce is silky and very flavorful, it does not overwhelm your taste buds with a garlic punch. 
Instead, the cooked garlic is mild and enhanced by the abundant clam bits, the tender, sweet carrot morsels, and flavorful herbs. 
When a weeknight needs a comforting, hearty pasta, this is a great recipe to turn to.
Linguine with Garlicky Clam Sauce
Sunnyside Cook
Ingredients
- 16 ounces linguine pasta
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves minced
- 3 6.5- ounce cans chopped clams drained, all juices reserved
- 1 8- ounce bottle clam juice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 carrots peeled and finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/3 cup minced fresh Italian parsley separated (see below)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat water in deep pot to boil pasta. Cook linguine according to package directions until about two minutes shy of al dente.
- Meanwhile, combine butter and oil in a heavy large skillet over low heat. Once the butter is melted, add the minced garlic and cook about 1 minute—until it is fragrant.
- Add the juices reserved from the canned clams, the bottle of clam juice, the wine, carrots, and oregano. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a lower boil and cook for around 12 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups.
- Reduce the heat and stir in the clams and all but 1 tablespoon of the minced parsley. Simmer the mixture until it is heated through, about 1 minute. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper, if desired.
- Drain the cooked linguine and add it to the skillet. Toss with the hot clam sauce, working to blend all of the ingredients as thoroughly as possible. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until pasta is done and flavors are married.
- Transfer to a large serving bowl or platter. Garnish with the remaining minced parsley and serve.
Looks great, too.