Spaghetti With Clams and Green Beans
Updated March 28, 2023
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 18cherrystone clams, shucked, with clam juice reserved, about 2 cups
- 1pound green beans
- 12cups water
- Salt to taste
- 1pound imported spaghetti
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 5ripe plum tomatoes, about 1 pound, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ⅛teaspoon red hot-pepper flakes
- ⅓cup Absolut lemon vodka or regular vodka flavored with the juice of ½ lemon, optional
- ⅓cup heavy cream
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- ½cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves or ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
- Freshly grated peccorino or Parmesan cheese, optional
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Preparation
- Step 1
Chop the clams coarsely; there should be about 1 cup.
- Step 2
Trim or break off the ends of the beans and remove the strings. Cut the beans into 2-inch lengths.
- Step 3
Bring the water, salted to taste, to a boil in a kettle and add the green beans. Bring to a simmer and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook; the beans should remain crisp. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.
- Step 4
Bring the reserved cooking liquid to a boil. Add the spaghetti, stir and cook for about 6 minutes. Drain.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook briefly, stirring, without browning. Add the tomatoes, pepper flakes and the reserved clam juice. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the liquid has been reduced to about 2 cups.
- Step 6
Add the drained spaghetti, beans, vodka, if desired, cream and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook until the spaghetti is al dente, stirring, and add the clams and basil. Toss and cook 1 minute. Serve immediately with peccorino or Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
I was a little sad not to see any notes on this dish…a favorite these past 30 years. The cookbook “Cuisine Rapide” is a favorite, too. It’s so well organized, indexed, besides being great, quick meals. Still making recipes from it—a gold standard for me for cookbooks. Cook green beans more briefly—about 3 minutes to keep them crisp. Cook less pasta with more liquid (broth, cream, chopped tomatoes) because it gets absorbed. So good!
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