A Can and a Plan: Clams and Spaghetti

Growing up in the 80s, clams and spaghetti was in the daily dinner rotation pretty much weekly.

As a working maniac mom circa 2019, I totally understand why.

1. It's cheap.

2. It's easy.

3. It's fast

4. It's super amazingly delish.

Shoutout to my mom for the inspiration. She worked everyday as an art teacher extraordinaire, schlepped my sisters and me all over the place, volunteered in many town organizations, maintained the house with no outside help and cooked dinner every freaking night for us.

Superwoman, for sure.

So this one is for all of today's moms getting it done.  Because sometimes you need some easy crowd pleasers that involve little time or thought.

And truth be told:  I rocked this out years ago when my and my husband were kicking it newlywed style. It's amazing no matter what your lifestyle.

You can double this recipe to suit the size of your fam. With one son, mine is pretty small. But I got to say, my boy ate quite a few helpings of this.

Clams from a Can and Spaghetti
Serves 4

6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. oregano
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup white wine
1 can of Cento whole baby clams (10 oz.)
1/2 cup Cento clam juice
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound spaghetti
1 to 2 cups of pasta water (as needed)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Be sure to salt your water according to package instructions.  Cook spaghetti according to instructions on your package. Stir so that the spaghetti doesn't stick together and cooks evenly.

While bringing the pasta water to a boil, make the sauce. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, add olive oil. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and oregano. Cook for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Add the clams, clam juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add pasta directly from the pot into the clam sauce using a spaghetti spoon. Ladle pasta water into the clam sauce so that the sauce is abundant enough to coat your pasta nicely. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with fresh parsley.

Serve with grated cheese  and extra red pepper flakes if desired.