My dad’s passion is food, and he loves to cook. One of his favorite things to cook is a quick and easy Clams and Linguine.
He makes a traditional Italian version of it, so he doesn’t add any cream or milk. He also just measures by taste, so he doesn’t use exact measurements. But, I’m going to tell you how to make it!
Start off with equal parts of butter and olive oil in a skillet. If you’re planning on using a whole can of clams, then use a minimum of half a stick of butter, and you can use up to 2 whole sticks for a very rich sauce. You can also add a couple Calabrian chili peppers, but since those are quite expensive here in Puerto Vallarta my dad uses Chile de Arbol, which is a great substitute.
Then finely dice 2 heads of garlic and add them to the butter-olive oil mixture. Then simmer the mixture for at least 30 minutes to get rid of the spiciness from the garlic. While it’s simmering you should add some water every so often so the garlic doesn’t burn, or you can use white wine.
When that’s done start boiling as little water as possible for the pasta of your choice. My dad normally uses fettuccini, and linguine is traditional, but you can use any type of pasta. Once the pasta is half cooked add it to the sauce and let it continue cooking. The pasta will absorb a lot of the sauce so add as much pasta water as needed. When the pasta is cooked remove it from the heat and add the clams, a big bunch of chopped-up parsley, and Parmesan cheese to taste. And that’s it! Plate your pasta and enjoy.
