I love shellfish. Dungeness crab, clams, spot prawns, oysters — almost like I was destined for the PNW!

In recent years, I stopped cooking clams at home because I just couldn’t get them clean enough, sand bombs all over my broths and sauces. However, early on in COVID-19 quarantine, I saw a promotion for free (local) direct-to-home delivery from Hama Hama, a fifth-generation family-run shellfish farm on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Andy and I love indulging in Hama Hama oysters at Walrus and the Carpenter, so I thought we’d give their clams a try.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen that I think they are fantastic! In addition to being high-quality in taste, they are also nicely pre-cleaned. I give them a bit of a rinse when I get them and they are sand bomb free. That’s inspired me to cook with them at home more, including in this pasta alle vongole.

Hands down, the best Italian food I’ve had to date (keeping in mind that I have not been to Italy) is Pink Door in Seattle. The Linguine Alle Vongole is one of our favorites and is what inspired the recipe in this post. Also, the next thing I’m about to say has nothing to do with this post but I have to say it. The Pappardelle Al Ragu Bolognese at The Pink Door is OUT OF THIS WORLD. If you haven’t been, are thinking about going, or someday stumble on The Pink Door. Order it. No regrets.

I adapted this recipe from Samin Nosrat (Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat). Below are the ingredients I used, along with my modifications. Check out the full recipe from Splendid Table or in Samin’s cookbook.

I N G R E D I E N T S

• Salt (I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt)

• Extra-virgin olive oil (I like using Lucini or California Olive Ranch)

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced, root ends saved

• 3 parsley sprigs, plus 1/4 finely chopped leaves

• 4-5lbs of manila clams, scrubbed well

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 6-8 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes

• 8oz of linguini (I like using De Cecco)

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 4 tbsp of unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan

M O D I F I C A T I O N S + T I P S

• I used all Manila clams because that’s what I had, but you can use a combo of Manila and Littleneck Clams, or just more of one.

• Since I only used one variety of clams, I treated them like the Littlenecks in her recipe. I skipped chopping them because they were already small and I reserved a few in the shells for plating.

• I used half the amount of pasta the original recipe called for.

• I like it a little more garlicky and added more than the original recipe called for.

• I used about half of a large lemon in the sauce, but taste and adjust to your preference. I served the additional lemon on the side. Andy likes the extra acidity.

• There’s no set amount for how much of the clam juice to use, I was more liberal because I like the briny taste.

• The pasta should be saucey. Serve with a side of crusty bread to soak that extra goodness!

• Buy a small block of parmesan and freshly grate it at home. It makes a difference, I promise!

• Invest in good olive oil to up your sauce game.

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