I absolutely LOVE this dish. LOVE it! it’s best with fresh clams, but failing that, canned clams, whole and chopped, are necessary. Now with that out of the way, you have to make fresh pasta.
There really is not anything in the world as good as outstanding fresh pasta.
The ingredients I used for the sauce wete:
- Anchovies
- Finely chopped shallots
- Finely chopped garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Lemon zest
- White wine
- Kalamata olives chopped
- Chopped clams
- Whole clams
- Clam juice
- Parsley
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Pasta water
To start out, I slowly cooked the anchovies in olive oil till they had melted. Then I added first the shallots and the red pepper flakes, then as they softened, I added the garlic, olives and the lemon zest. I deglazed the pan with the wine and cooked it down till about half the cup had evaporated. I added the clams and clam juice then dropped the pasta into the salted boiling water. while the clam sauce was developing I added a little pasta water. When the pasta was floating and just before I added it to the sauce pan, I added the parsley and the lemon juice. I added the butter then the noodles and mixed the noodles with the sauce. I added a little more pasta water till the sauce was nice and silkly.
I served the pasta with fresh made breadsticks and aCeasar Salad along with the rest of the bottle of wine. It was a masterful meal! Heathere said, “That is the best version of this dish you have ever made!”
My Life: A Memoir 