Light Linguine with Red Clam Sauce

 I recently finished a Cooking for Two series and found a few more recipes for two to try later on. This light Linguine with Red Clam Sauce caught my eye because a good clam sauce is hard to come by and it's one of my favorite pasta sauces.

This one is a thick, light and simple sauce full of minced clams and has a little kick (you can leave out the pepper flakes if you're not into spicy).

I prefer a more saucy than chunky sauce, so I added a little more liquid than the recipe called for (see Tips and Stuff below recipe). It was easy to throw together for a weekday lunch and I liked not having a bunch of leftovers.

I'm not sure clams would refrigerate and heat back up that well anyway. If you're brave and want to use fresh clams in their shell, be my guest. I'm not that adventurous.

This will be a go-to pasta sauce, even without the clams, for a dinner on a night we're both tired and wanting something tasty. You can double this easily to serve 4.

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Light Linguine with Red Clam Sauce

Yield: 2

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Good and spicy red clam sauce over linguine; quick to make. 

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Ingredients

• Cooking Spray
• ⅛ C chopped onion,, (about 2 tbsp)
• ½ clove garlic,, minced
• 7 oz no-salt-added diced tomatoes,, undrained
• 4 oz Italian tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoon white wine
• ½ teaspoon dried basil, or 1 tsp. fresh basil, chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon oregano
• pinch of dried crushed red pepper
• 1 can minced clams,, 6 oz., drained
• 4 oz linguine
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat, while preparing sauce. Keep out ¼ of pasta water.
2. For sauce: coat a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, white wine, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat.
4. Simmer, uncovered for 8 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup pasta water and simmer for 2 more minutes. Add clams and simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Divide pasta between 2 bowls and top with clam mixture. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Notes

I wanted my sauce a little thinner so added even more pasta water - about another ¼ cup.

If you don't have white wine, just add a little water instead. I'm not sure the wine added that much to the flavor.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 323Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 1420mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 29g

Nutrition Values are Approximate