Linguini w/clams in tomato sauce

With this inspiration, we're going Italian this week.

What are we making this week, Steph? Clams with pasta is a classic for good reason. It's a fast and easy way to get the flavour of the sea together with the bright, fresh flavour of tomato. To enrich the finish, you could drizzle the dish with some extra virgin olive oil. Freshly ground black pepper also works nicely here.

To clean clams, let them soak a few hours in very cold water and then scrub them with a brush to loosen the sand that collects in the ridges. Rinse them in several changes of water, and you're good to go.

Linguini w/Clams in Tomato Sauce
serves 4

3 dozen clams, well scrubbed
2 x 20 oz canned whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 medium onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
1/4 white wine
1 tsp cracked chilis [of more if you like more heat]
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
s&p to taste

• In a large heavy pot, heat the oil and cook the onions and garlic until the onion is translucent.
• Add white wine to deglaze.
• Add the tomatoes [and their juice] and the chilis.
• Simmer until the sauce has reduced to the desired thickness
• [The clams will release liquor, which will loosen the sauce a bit.]
• While the pasta has been cooking a few minutes, return the clams to the simmering sauce and stir.
• The clams will open in less than five minutes.
• Remove them as they open, and keep them warm.
• Discard any clams that don't open in 10 minutes.
• When the pasta is cooked and drained, add the clams back to the sauce and stir.
• Add the pasta, mix well, check seasoning, and add parsley and more olive oil if desired.

Glenn, what are we drinking with this? For clams and tomatoes, I'd consider these two. First, a Spanish rosé from the LCBO. Chivite Gran Feudo, from the Navarra province, is a great value. Second, an Italian white called Falanghina by Feudi di San Gregorio from Campania region, available privately. The grapes are grown on Mount Vesuvius soil, with lots of mineral to match the clams. This is also the part of the country known for the best tomatoes for sauce -- San Marzano -- which nods to the two best features of this dish.