Pasta with Bacon, Clams and Mushrooms

This is another stellar Nick Stellino recipe that has all the makings of a new "flavorite" in our household. Loaded with swimmingly good Oregon Coast gaper clams, and mushrooms in a rose blush sauce, the bacon in this particular dish just puts it over the top to nirvana. Of course Nick recommended pancetta but our homemade bacon is so darn tasty, I use it every opportunity I can get.

Now I used frozen uncooked gaper clams for this dish, but of course you can follow the official recipe and use small clams instead. I just happen to have a few packages of frozen gaper clams left in the freezer from our vacation last year and since we'll be on our way back there in a little over 6 weeks, it's time to get 'em done. Check out a previous post and a lesson in clamming 101 if you've a chance and it'll give you the low down on digging these treasures of the deep. 

As for this dish, believe me there's absolutely nothing bad I can say about it, and that just about says it all which is downright typical of darn near anything Nick Stellino comes up with. He's my hero don't cha know!

Hope your week is going well and that you're enjoying the prelude to summer. Thankfully it's been a touch cooler here the last couple of days although we all know it's not going to last - high 70's and low 80's is darn near perfect weather in my book. Today is official Whoopie Pie Day as the big guy left this morning with an insulated bag weighing 25 pounds. We just had to weigh the darn thing to see exactly what 5 dozen whoopie pies amount to. Betcha' they'd account for a heck of a lot more pounds than that if I was eatin' the darn things. This year's choices included the two favorites Chocolate Peanut Butter and  Strawberries and Cream along with newbie on the block - Just Peachy made with dried white peaches. If you're uninitiated in the whoopie pie department, check out last year's post for some edumacatin'.

Pasta with Bacon, Clams and Mushrooms (adapted from nickstellino.com)

8 ounces dried pasta (I used tagliatelli, but linguini is great too)

3 slices bacon diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 large garlic cloves minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1-1/2 cups chopped uncooked clams (I used gaper)

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to pasta directions till just al dente. Meanwhile in a large sauté pan over medium high heat cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside on paper towels to drain. Add olive oil to pan and add onion and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute, then add mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally until onion is soft and mushrooms are cooked. Add red pepper flakes and cook 1 more minute. Remove from pan and set aside. Add chopped clams to pan along with white wine and cook until clams are just opaque – about 1-1/2 minutes. Remove clams from pan reserving any juices. Return pan to heat and reduce juices until approximately 3/4 cup remain. Add marinara sauce and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and add cooked pasta along with onion/mushrooms mixture and cooked clams. Toss pasta in sauce to coat well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until pasta absorbs sauce. Serve garnished with parsley.  Makes 3 to 4 servings. Download Pasta with Bacon, Clams and Mushrooms

Comments

[Nanan]

The pasta looks devine.
Just Peachy is the one I would go for!

[June]

Lea - me too, although the strawberry one's darn fine too. Just wish I'd taken pics. I mean, imagine making 60+ of the darn things and not taking a single photo. Sinful! Guess it means I'll have to make 'em again so I can post 'em. Right?