Pasta with Clams, Corn, Tomatoes and Pancetta

A summer pot if you "fancy"

Question of the week- Why does your S.O. always eat the last of the snack you wanted (and bought) and not say a word but leaves you dying for the Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cup you thought you had in your cupboard?

When I began doing my cooking classes at the height of the pandemic, I would always inquire about what dishes my students were interested in making but maybe were too intimidated to try at home. The two things that came up the most were fish and shellfish. Maybe we’ve all watched too many Master Chef episodes and think that cooking fish at home is difficult and should be left to the pros but I’m here to set you free from the constraints of your own fears….cooking fish isn’t hard, and cooking shellfish is even less hard, AND you can absolutely do this. If you’re one of those people that will order the brothy mussels for a starter at a restaurant but wouldn’t dare make them at home, consider this your week to be brave, get to the market and give it a go.

Living in LA we had our fresh pick of seafood on any given day, and I do have to say that Cali produce cannot be beat. I still have FOMO when my friends post what they casually picked up at their local farmers market in LA. If you follow me on social media, you know that my mental health has been in a good space thanks to my beloved kitchen garden that is now in it’s 4^th season. I have learned a lot about life through gardening and nothing beats harvesting your own food. One thing that has been producing like crazy already are the cherry tomatoes. Now, it’s a fight if I make it out there before the birds get to them but I’ve managed to harvest a ton so far and they are beauties. To me, summer is all about the produce, so I stopped by my local Whole Foods this week to grab a few ears of corn to play around with. Tomatoes, corn, I mean….is there a better summer duo? Add bacon into the mix and you’ve got yourself a very tasty trio.

I realized that I sent out quite a few recipes that were made outside on the grill and that maybe it’s getting even too hot for that, and a few of you kindly let me know that you don’t own a grill so here we are with a beautiful pasta that really screams summer. The great thing about this meal is that it’s light and you can enjoy drinking the same wine you make the broth with, more bang for your buck…cheers to summer!

the clams before they got covered for their steam bath

The Ingredients

We already talked about the produce. Wherever you live, you should be coming into all of these ingredients now so this should be doable no matter where you’re at in the US. Let’s talk about the star though, the clams. Sourcing clams can be tough, but I was able to find some very fresh clams at my local Whole Foods. For this recipe you want either Little Neck or Manila clams. You should ask how fresh they are before you buy them and don’t be afraid to have the fish monger pick out the nice one’s for you. My guy made sure I had no open clams in my bunch today and I thanked him for it. If a clam or mussel is open when you bring it home, it’s no good.

The only part of this recipe that takes time is purging the clams which means getting rid of the sand and grit in them. I’ve included details below. If you are already saying to yourself that you’ll never make this because the word “purge” isn’t doing it for you, you can cheat and use a can of 10oz whole clams, I won’t tell anybody. For the wine, my go to is always a dry Sauvignon Blanc that I will also drink with the meal. You could absolutely do a pinot grigio as well, it would be spectacular. You can use pancetta or bacon, I love the little 4oz container of pre-cut pancetta I find at TJ’s but whatever pork product you can get your hands on here, would work. For herbs, you can go to town if that’s your thing, basil is a beautiful choice, but parsley is the clam’s good old faithful friend. I’ve added a lot of substitutions below to make this a choose your own adventure moment but I highly suggest making this one while summer is giving up the goods.

Pasta with Clams, Corn, Tomatoes and Pancetta

Serves 2-4

Equipment needed:

• Cutting board

• Knife

• Large Bowl for cleaning the clams

• Large pasta pot with lid

• Another large pot or braiser to cook the clams

• Tongs

 Ingredients:

• 3lbs clams (little neck, manila) OR use 1 10oz can of whole clams