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Clams are one of my Friday night go to dinners – fast, easy, and sooo delicious. A quick trip to the store for a couple pounds of fresh clams and you are in business. Linguine and clams in a white wine/garlic sauce is my number one go-to recipe but I’ve started to branch out a bit. You kind of have to if you serve clams as often as I do. Last week we tried a spicy tomato-based sauce for the clams and served them up with garlic bread. I will certainly be adding this clams in a spicy sauce recipe to the rotation! You can whip it up in under 30 minutes.
Looking for more shellfish recipes? Try my linguine and clams, drunken shellfish stew, champagne lemon risotto with squid, or warm shrimp salad!
Shellfish Selection and Preparation
This recipe requires fresh clams. Our Whole Foods usually carries little neck clams. They work well for this recipe but are typically pricey (at least at Whole Foods). My favorite Asian grocery store always has fresh Manila clams for $5.99. They are my favorite clam choice. Cherrystone clams are good too if you can find them. If you are serving clams as an entree, you will want about 1 pound per person.
Buy your clams the same day you plan to use them. Store them in the fridge in a colander or bowl. Don’t leave them in a plastic bag or cover them up with plastic – they need air. I always rinse them and soak them in cold water for at least 20 minutes before cooking. This will help them expel any remaining sand and grit. Pick out any dead ones and discard them.
Pair your clams in spicy red sauce with a dry white or rose wine. We like Spanish Albarino with this dish.
Print
Clams in a Spicy Red Sauce
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Seafood
Description
A simple yet elegant summer dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon fennel seed
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 roma tomatoes (about a pound), diced*
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 4 pounds clams (little neck, manila, or cherrystone)
- 1 large lemon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, ¼ fresh chopped basil (or any desired combination of fresh herbs)
- French or ciabatta bread for serving. I like to toast the bread with a little garlic infused olive oil.
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in large pot with lid. Add the garlic, fennel seed, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium for about 2 minutes until fragrent. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in white wine and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer, add the clams, and cover. Steam the clams until they open – 3 to 8 minutes depending on type (manila will cook quicker 3 to 5 minutes while the others take longer). You will them clicking against the pan as they begin to open.
- Transfer the clams to a large serving bowl. Return the cooking liquid to a boil and cook down for 5 minutes or until it thickens up a bit. Stir in the juice of one lemon, butter, and fresh herbs, reserving some herbs for garnishing.
- Pour the mixture over the clams. Serve with bread and garnish with remaining herbs.
Notes
You can swap about a pound of cherry or grape tomatoes for the roma tomatoes if you prefer – cut them in half lengthwise.
