Healthy and Savory Clam Linguini

I am so excited to share this tasty dinner with you today! I have cooked this recipe for the last three weeks and am still in love with it. I first cooked it with my friend Michelle from Faithful Workouts in Colorado. She is the one who inspired this recipe. Then I made it for my mom, and she added some of her expertise. Even my husband Brian, who isn’t the biggest fan of seafood, loved it.

While I am including pasta and crusty bread in this recipe, please know anything can be modified to meet your dietary needs and restrictions. To avoid starchy carbs, just add more clam meat, omit the pasta, and a larger salad. I hope you enjoy this fun Friday night meal!

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh Cherrystone clams

2 cans diced clams in clam juice

Juice from 2 lemons

1/3 cup white wine

1/4 cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped parsley + more for garnish

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 Tbsp grass-fed butter

1-2 Tbsp parmesan cheese + more for topping

1/2 lb linguini pasta*

*If avoiding pasta, you can instead use 2 cups of spinach per person served.

Salad

mixed greens

1/4 Persian cucumber

shaved carrot

feta cheese

salad dressing of choice (my favorite is my Italian seasons packet dressing with extra red wine vinegar)

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a small pan with garlic until the garlic is slightly brown but not burned. Remove from heat.

2. Combine the olive oil and garlic with the white wine, lemon juice and juice from the canned clams into a food processor. Mix until smooth.

3. Pour the contents into a pan and heat over medium heat. Add the butter, clams and parmesan cheese. Reduce the mixture on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes. Turn down the heat to low, and then add the red pepper flakes and chopped parsley. Add more cheese, if necessary.

4. Wash the clams in cold water and scrub the shells. Transfer them to a pot of boiling water, and boil until they open up. Discard any clams that do not open. Drain the water.

5. Boil salted water for the pasta. Once boiling, add the linguini and cook until it is el dente (about 8-10 minutes). Drain the pasta. If using spinach instead, wilt the spinach using either a microwave or steaming it briefly for 2-4 minutes.

6. Plate the pasta or spinach in a wide bowl, and then add the clams that are still in the shells. Top with a generous amount of sauce. Be sure to get the clam meat from the sauce onto the plates, and then top with extra chopped parsley, parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

7. For the side salad, place some of the mixed greens into a bowl and add chopped cucumbers and shaved carrots. Top with feta and your favorite dressing, and serve alongside the clams in another bowl.

8. If you enjoy bread with your pasta, slice lightly toasted French bread or sourdough to help soak up the extra sauce.

   I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do!