Spaghetti with Red Clam Sauce & Capers

Say “Clam Sauce” and everyone thinks of a white, rich sauce with clams in it over heavy pasta.  But growing up, my Mom never, ever made a white clam sauce, only this addicting red one. This recipe is entirely different! I love the clean, tangy and salty taste of this broth-like pasta sauce.  You really need to have some crusty sourdough bread, or French bread to serve with this to help soak up all the broth while enjoying this dinner.

This meal took 15 minutes to get to the table tonight, it is so easy, and with a little planning, you could have the ingredients for this in your pantry at all times!  Don’t skip the parsley in this recipe, it really adds something to it!

I will tell you that I am not a “clam” person, I never, ever order clams at a restaurant, I just don’t enjoy them.  This sauce is different and while it may have a clam taste, it does not have the texture that clam haters everywhere detest.  My kids ate this happily, never even asking what meat was in the sauce.  It’s that good.

One word of warning, this is a messy dish to eat, the long strands of pasta have a way of whipping about on their way to your mouth, making a complete mess of your shirt… even if you are careful!  Wear the silly napkin bib, it just makes life easier.

The recipe below makes about 5 good size portions for a main dish, but this would also make a nice light pasta course for 8 people if you were having a dinner party.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Tbsp of minced garlic

3-4 Tbsp of chopped parsley

2 6oz cans of minced clams

1/c cup of clam nectar/clam stock

1 15oz can of diced tomatoes

3-4 Tbsp of capers

Freshly ground pepper

1 1lb box of vermincelli pasta, thin spaghetti

***I didn't add any salt to my recipe, based on the great taste without it. Capers are naturally salty and so are canned clams and tomatoes.  Taste first, then salt it!

Here are the steps in order to complete this dinner in 15 minutes:

Boil water (add salt) for pasta, vermincelli cooks in about 6-8 minutes and you do want this to be al dente.

Chop the parsley. Add olive oil to a saucepan, and over medium heat add the garlic and the parsley, slowly warm it up. Watch to make sure that you are not frying the garlic, as it can get bitter. Add the capers.

 Add the canned clams (& the broth in the cans too), the diced tomatoes with the can juices and the 4 oz of clam nectar.  Give the mixture a stir and bring it to a gentle boil.  Serve immediately over hot cooked noodles.  Serve with bread.
How easy it that?