Clam Pantry Pasta

  1. Salt a pot of water and bring to a boil. Think Nigella Lawson when you salt the water. It must be salty like the sea. If you are good with timing in the kitchen (a function I completely lack), then you can go ahead to preparing the sauce while cooking the pasta. I, on the other hand, refrain from cooking the pasta until I feel I am confident to combine the components of this dish without overcooking my pasta or undercooking the sauce. Just remember to cook the pasta 1 to 2 minutes less than the instructions because it will continue to cook when you are tossing it in the sauce -- and I hate pasta that is not al dente, don't you?
  2. While water boiling (or pasta is cooking), in a pan over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil and anchovy oil.
  3. Add the garlic. This may be the only part of dish where I try to make it "fancy." If I feel like putting the effort in, I slice the garlic cloves as thin as I can. In my head, I revert to iconic scene of the movie "Goodfellas" where Pauli slices the garlic using a razor blade and the garlic just melts in the sauce. That is what I aim for when I do this. I want the garlic to melt. -- but minced garlic will do just fine.
  4. While garlic is sizzling away, add red pepper flakes. When the oil starts to turn a little red, add anchovy fillets. Break up the fillets with a spoon while cooking. It starts to look like olive tapenade, but then the anchovies just melt away.
  5. Add the canned clams with the juices. Cook for 3 minutes or so. You want the clams juices to reduce by a third. If your pasta still is nowhere near done, then do what I do and take the pan off the heat until you think pasta is almost done. If you are a professional at the whole kitchen-timing thing and the stars in universe are aligned, then by all means, take the pasta and toss it in the sauce while the sauce continues to cook down. If you find that the pasta is too dry then add pasta water as needed. For those like me, bring the pan back to the heat once you think your pasta is almost done. Toss pasta in the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes. Salt to taste. The pasta should be perfectly al dente. If more cooking is required, just remember to ladle more pasta water if needed. You don't want bone-dry pasta, but rather a nice amount of sauce to drizzle a bit on top of the dish or lap up with some nice crusty bread!
  6. I never have parsley around unless I am hell-bent on doing a recipe that includes it but if you have fresh parsley lying around, just a little for garnish will make it look so nice when you plate.

garlic, anchovies, oil, red pepper, butter, olive oil, pasta, do, salt

Taken from food52.com/recipes/26833-clam-pantry-pasta (may not work)

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