Pasta with Clams and Cherry Tomatoes
Tender clams and bright cherry tomatoes come together in a light, garlicky white wine sauce that clings to pasta in minutes. A showstopper weeknight dinner that tastes like the Italian coast.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 520
- Protein
- 28g
Ingredients
- 1 lb littleneck clams, live
- 8 oz spaghetti or linguine
- 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic cloves
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the clams under cold running water, rubbing their shells with your fingers to remove any sand or grit. Discard any clams that do not close when you tap them.
- 2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil — the water should bubble vigorously across the entire surface.
- 3
Mince the garlic until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice — about the size of pencil-tip dots.
- 4
Cut each cherry tomato in half crosswise, so you have two flat pieces from each tomato.
- 5
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and stir with a fork to separate the strands, then cook until it is just firm to the tooth (al dente) — check the package time, usually 9–11 minutes.
- 6
While the pasta cooks, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers and slides quickly when you tilt the pan, about 90 seconds.
- 7
Add the minced garlic to the hot oil and stir constantly for 30 seconds until it smells strongly fragrant — do not let it brown.
- 8
Pour in 0.75 cup of dry white wine and stir, then add the clams in a single layer on the bottom of the skillet.
- 9
Cover the skillet with a lid or foil and cook over medium-high heat until all the clams have opened — listen for a gentle boil beneath the cover, about 6–8 minutes.
- 10
Remove the cover and discard any clams that have not opened.
- 11
Add the cherry tomato halves to the skillet and stir gently with a wooden spoon, then let them cook in the liquid for 1 minute until they soften slightly.
- 12
Drain the pasta in a colander, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water, then add the drained pasta to the skillet with the clams and tomatoes.
- 13
Toss the pasta with the clam sauce using a wooden spoon or tongs, lifting the pasta up and turning it over until it is evenly coated, about 1 minute.
- 14
If the pasta looks dry, pour in a splash of the reserved cooking water — about 2–3 tablespoons — and toss again until the sauce coats the pasta evenly.
- 15
Taste the pasta and stir in salt and pepper until it tastes bright and balanced to you — start with 0.25 teaspoon salt and 0.125 teaspoon pepper, then adjust.
- 16
Divide the pasta and clams evenly between two shallow bowls, then drizzle any remaining sauce from the skillet over the top of each serving.
Tools you’ll need
- large pot
- large skillet with lid
- colander
- wooden spoon
- wooden fork or tongs
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- measuring cups and spoons
- shallow serving bowls
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