Tagliatelli with Clams and Lemon

I know you're likely thinking "those guys sure ate a lot of seafood this week" and you'd be right. We did have it a few times but last night's was kind of a bonus. You see this cook really wanted to go out but we couldn't decide where to go and when the big guy said "I'd rather eat your cookin' than in any restaurant", I was kinda' shamed into coming up with something. Isn't he a sweetheart?

Clams - you know we've got clams and since we've got a couple of packages left to use before we head out in SEVEN weeks and SIX days to get more, with the soux chef's assistance it was for sure the best clam pasta I've ever made.

After checking out a few of my favorite Italian cookbooks I kinda' settled on the KISS rule and kept it simple. This lemon tagliatelli from Trader Joe's is so darn good it's a shame to cover the flavor up with a cream sauce, even though I love the stuff of course. That's the reason I'm stuck on the elliptical every morning. Duh. Anyway, I used the Cuisinart to make crumbs from the last of my homemade bread then sauteed them in a touch of olive oil, spiced them up with some red pepper flakes and set them aside. Red onion, garlic and a shallot went into the pan with a touch of olive oil followed by chopped clams, a little vermouth and some lemon juice. The result was a fresh lemony wine clam sauce that was further enriched with a pat of butter before it joined the cooked tagliatelli in the pasta pot and languished for a moment over low heat so the pasta could absorb some of the sauce.

The pasta was transferred to bowls, finished with the crispy breadcrumbs and some fresh basil, a few more pepper flakes, some black pepper and holy moly batman ...was it good! Those darn little toasted breadcrumbs sucked up some sauce and a lot of flavor but still remained crunchy and yummy. The clams were tender and perfectly cooked - not rubbery at all which has been my previous problem. Course as I mentioned, the big guy took care of that by gently pounding the Gaper clam pieces with a mallet before chopping them. That made all the difference in the world.

I'm thinking we might be on to something here.  Download Tagliatelli with Clams and Lemon Give it a try and see what you think, OK?

Comments

[Mags]

Your recipes always make me wish I could eat seafood. I know, I know... it's not worth my throat swelling shut, but darn it, I want it!

[Nanan]

Sounds lovely - of coures - fetching those bivalves yourself makes all the difference!

[June]

Mags - I know you'd croak if you ate seafood, but honestly chicken would work here too.

Lea - you're right. The clams and crab you catch yourself always seems to taste better.

[Sophia]

I think that the big man's comment was just an excuse not to have to take you out! Shame on him! But then again, he's probably right...

[June]

Sophia - Hey, I have to humor him...end of semester and we all know what that's like. Oh well 7 weeks till we're off to Oregon and then he'll be taking me to the Flounder. Tee,hee.