Homemade Linguine with Clams

I am a huge seafood lover but the portions you get at restaurants are just not worth the prices that you pay. Instead of paying on average $30 or more for this dish at a restaurant, I decided to try to make my favorite seafood dish at home, linguine and clams! Whole Foods has a great selection of quality seafood and I usually get a bag of ~ 50 little neck clams for about $22 (here in New Jersey). This equals out to about 2 servings (25/person, my boyfriend and I are big eaters). The hardest part about this dish is cleaning the clams which I usually task my boyfriend with :). I recommend purchasing a dishwasher safe scrub brush like the one here so you can reuse.

Now for the homemade pasta, I use my dough hook attachment on my KitchenAid Mixer. I made homemade pasta using the old fashioned kneading method once and I will NEVER do that again. I recently received a pasta maker as a gift which I used to make cut my homemade linguine. This pasta maker is a game changer and makes pasta making a breeze! I've linked the pasta maker here.

Homemade Pasta Recipe:
4 Large Eggs, beaten 
3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
~1/2-3/4 cup of water
Extra flour for dusting

Using the flat beater on the stand mixer, incorporate the flour, salt, beaten eggs and water (begin with 1 tablespoon and add more as needed) into the bowl. Turn mixer on low speed and mix until well combined. 

Remove the flat beater and attach the dough hook, knead and add water as needed until the dough forms a ball and indents when you touch it. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. 

Place dough on a floured surface and knead the dough for a few minutes. Cut the dough into 4 pieces and form each into flat triangle shapes with your hands. Follow your pasta maker directions from herein. 

You can use the pasta immediately or dry before freezing! Cooking the pasta should only take a few minutes. Taste test every minute or so until desired tenderness.

 Linguine with Clams Recipe:

1 lb. Homemade Linguine (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup and 1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup of dry white wine (or chicken stock)

1 Lemon, juiced

2 Shallots

50 Little Neck Clams, scrubbed clean

2 tbsp Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped

Kosher Salt (to taste)

Black Pepper (to taste)

In a large saute pan (with a tight fitting lid) over medium high heat, combine olive oil and butter. Once the butter melts and the olive oil heats, add the garlic, shallots, salt, and pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and lemon juice and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add the clams (cleaned) and 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley to the pan. Cover with the lid and cook until the clams open. This may take between 5-7 minutes. If they don't all open, continue cooking the covered clams until they are all open. Plate the clams over linguine and garnish with remaining fresh parsley. Spoon some of the remaining sauce (this is packed with flavor) over top of the clams and linguine. This recipe yields quite a bit of sauce but feel free to increase or decrease the white wine or chicken stock as needed!