Obviously the tradition is to do white wine with your clam sauces. I wanted to try something new; and I will most likely never go back to the old way. This was the dish that Bella was least excited about in her pasta week and even she said it came out amazing.
1 lb linguini (or fettuccini), cooked and drained
10 oz can of clams (drain but reserve about 1/2 of the liquid)
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used Tuscan Herb oil)
4 oz shallots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 tsp black or white pepper
2 tsp italian seasoning
2 tsp salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 Cup lemon juice
Bottle of dry (Brut or Extra Brut) champagne
In a pan melt butter and sauté shallots with a pinch of salt until softened. Add in garlic and seasonings and cook down about 2 more minutes. Then add in clams, reserved clam juice, lemon juice, and champagne and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in pasta, olive oil, and lemon juice and cook another 10 minutes. That's it, it's that simple but that delicious. Enjoy!
For next time:
Could do this as a champagne cream sauce next time with about 1/4 Cup of heavy cream added
There's a restaurant in the Binghamton NY area (Tony's) that does their clam appetizer with sambuca instead of (or in addition to?) white wine. That might be a great option to try, I'll let you know how it goes.
You could do this with fresh clams as well but that adds a lot more prep work or serving in the bowl with the shells (I hate serving a composed dish with shells you have to pick out)
Serving topped with parsley or green onions would have been great, I didn't have any at the time (silly hurricane)
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