A perfectly refreshing summer dish, linguine with red clam sauce uses deliciously ripe cherry tomatoes and garlic, topped with toasted breadcrumbs. This dish is a favorite and one we coined "Linguine Clamato".
I'm always looking for more dishes to add to our Christmas Eve meal and Fried Flounder Oreganata are always in there!
Looking for more seafood pasta? Check out our Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Linguine or Shrimp Scampi.
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The Perfect Summer Clam Sauce
You HAVE to make this take on linguine with clams this summer. Traditional Linguine with clams is one of my absolute favorite recipes, but I prefer it when it starts to get cold out for some reason. I have this craving for fresh tomatoes once the warm weather hits and cherry tomatoes are back in season.
There is no cheese in this dish, just toasted breadcrumbs to give you that same texture we miss without the cheese. Typically, seafood is not paired with cheese in Italy. Seafood and cheese weren't usually available in Italy in the same place. The cheese was inland and the seafood was on the coastline. Although, I maintain that this seafood pasta should be cheese-less, do what you please. Just try the toasted breadcrumbs first!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Toasted Breadcrumbs. You could substitute parmesan for the breadcrumbs. But as I said before, I don't recommend cheese with this one!
Anchovies. As for the anchovies, everyone always asks if they can leave them out. Again, I wouldn't recommend that, but if you do, add a little salt to the sauce to make up for it.
Fresh Clams. If you can't find fresh clams, you can use canned clams but the sauce will be slightly thicker. I use little neck clams or cherrystone clams for this recipe. Little neck clams are the best in pasta because their small and sweeter. Cherrystones are a bit more of a mouthful
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
Purging the Clams
Start by scrubbing the clams under cold running water. Then place them in a cold and salty water bath. The clams will filter out any gritty sand. Allow them to sit for 60 minutes, then change the water and let them sit for another 60 minutes. When you're ready to add them to the sauce, you'll remove them from the bath and rinse them again.
Make sure to ask wherever you get the clams if they are already purged. Then you can skip this step! I always purge my clams, because I usually don't take them home and cook them right away anyway. It's a great way to make sure they don't die. I always purge them when I make Italian Stuffed Baked Clams.
How to Make Linguine with Clams in Red Sauce
Step 1: In a large saucepan, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovies once the olive oil is shimmering. Saute until the garlic is fragrant. The anchovies will melt away into the oil slowly.
Step 2: Add the tomato paste and combine with the garlic. Let the tomato paste caramelize on the pan for two minutes.
Step 3: Add cherry tomatoes and allow them to simmer and break down. Saute for 5-8 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down.
Step 4: Add white wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add linguine and boil until just before al dente.
Step 5: Add the clams to the pot and cover for 3-4 minutes or until all the clams open. Discard any clams that do not open on their own.
Step 6: Add some of the pasta water to the pan and continue simmering on low until the pasta is ready.
Step 7: Stir in the pasta and combine well until the sauce is covering the pasta. Allow the pasta to cook for another 2-3 minutes in the pan. Serve Linguine with red clam sauce with toasted breadcrumbs instead of parmigiano.
Pro-Tips
- Purging the clams is the most important step in the recipe. It doesn't DO anything special to your recipe, but if you don't do it, it could ruin everything. Not purging the clams could result in a dish filled with sand and grit. Unless you like chewing sand, please, PLEASE purge them. I have made this mistake enough times to know.
- Pasta water is key to recipes like this. Make sure to add that liquid gold to help make the pasta more creamy. Think about what it does to Spaghetti Carbonara. You want that creaminess in this pasta without the cheese.
- Don't overcook the clams. Try to time the pasta to finish just as the clams are opening so you can add it right away.
Toasted breadcrumbs
Toasted breadcrumbs are so easy and a great addition to seafood dishes. Simply place a small pan on the stovetop on medium heat. Add your desired amount of breadcrumbs and toss until they become toasted. They will quickly brown.
Before cheese was available in most places in Italy, some people would use toasted breadcrumbs in place of Parmigiano. You can use these on any seafood pasta like Linguine with Clams or Shrimp Scampi Without Wine
Recipe FAQs
Reheat linguine with clams by placing the pasta in a pan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until heated through. Drizzle with olive oil.
Red clam sauce is made of little neck clams, cherry tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, white wine, and tomato paste.
Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio both pair well with linguine with clam sauce. They both have their different qualities but go nicely with this dish because of their subtle but sweet flavors.
More Seafood Pasta Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Linguine with Red Clam Sauce
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 large bowl for purging
Ingredients
- 1 lb linguine
- 2 dozen clams
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 5 anchovies
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1.5 cups white wine
- ½ cup starchy pasta water
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Scrub the clams and then purge them in cold salted water for 1 hour and then rinse and change the water and place in an ice bath for 1 more hour.
- In a shallow saucepot, add 2 tablespoon olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add garlic and anchovies once the olive oil is shimmering. Saute until garlic is fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and combine with the garlic. Add cherry tomatoes and gently use a wooden spoon to help them break down. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add linguine and boil until just before al dente.
- Add white wine and bring to a simmer. Steal ½ cup of pasta water from the linguine and add it to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Rinse clams in a strainer, add them to the pot, and cover for 3-4 minutes or until all of the clams open. Stir the linguine into the sauce. Let the pasta simmer in the sauce for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Serve with toasted breadcrumbs.
Notes
- Purging the clams is the most important step. Make sure to scrub them completely clean and purge them in ice water to remove as much sand from them as possible. Otherwise, you'll be chewing on grit.
- Pasta water is key to recipes like this. Make sure to add that liquid gold to help make the pasta more creamy.
- Don't overcook the clams. Try to time the pasta to finish just as the clams are opening so you can add it right away.
Vinny
This is one of our favorite recipes to make at the end of the summer when fresh cherry tomatoes are available! Hope you enjoy!