Clams in Red Sauce

5 from 4 votes

Littleneck clams in red sauce. Fresh whole clams are cooked in a garlicky Italian red sauce with basil. A delicious and easy Italian recipe.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Tear the basil and wash. Set aside about a 1/4 cup of washed basil leaves.
Slice up ten cloves of garlic. Saute garlic with 2 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat for 2 minutes in sauce pan.
Blend whole plum tomatoes on pulse setting or use hand and squeeze them to break them up in a bowl. Be careful not to make a mess if using the squeezing method.
Add tomatoes and all the tomato paste to sauce pan. Add 4 ounces of water, all the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook for 15 minutes on medium low.
Wash clams to remove any sand or debris.
Heat a clean large pan on medium-high and add 4 oz. of water and clams. Cover.
Clams should open within 5-10 minutes. Remove clams as they open. Continue to cook unopened clams for 10 minutes and remove all the open ones. Place all the open clams in a serving bowl and set aside.
After 10 minutes discard any unopened clams. In the empty clam pan add half the sauce and heat for 1 minute on medium-low. After 1 minute add the clams to the sauce. Stir it all together and turn off heat.
Add basil to pan, stir it all together and serve. Serve in plates with a drizzle of olive oil, and some crusty bread. Use remaining sauce if needed or dip the bread into it. Enjoy!

This whole recipe can be adapted to make a large meal with pasta, or could easily be doubled or tripled if serving for many guests.
Mussels are a great substitute.
Adjust salt/pepper to taste.
Crushed red pepper is optional.

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.2g | Protein: 22.4g | Fat: 15.2g | Sodium: 820mg

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