Excellent Red Clam Sauce

Joey D from NYC's Note:

I've never been much of a fan of the watery red clam sauce you tend to get at restaurants. Through trial and error, I've come up with this one. It's not too runny and not too heavy. I'm sure you could adjust the dried spices to your liking, but I think they give a good flavor as is. For the tomatoes, try to use San Marzano. The flavor really ends up being worth the extra cost. If they're not available, I recommend using Muir Glen Organic; again, the difference in flavor is worth the extra pennies. You can always substitute the canned clams for fresh and you'll end up with a chunkier sauce.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 793.78 g can crushed tomatoes
• 411.06 g can diced tomatoes in tomato puree
• 2 (368.54 g) can chopped clams, partially drained (reserve about 1/4 of juice in each can)
• 44.37 ml olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
• 4.92 ml dried basil
• 2.46 ml dried oregano
• 2.46 ml dried thyme
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan on stove over medium heat.
2. Add onion, garlic and a little salt and pepper; heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano and thyme; stir well to combine.
4. Simmer sauce until thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add partially drained clams, stir well and allow to heat through. You should start boiling your water for pasta at this point, turning off the sauce about 5 minutes before pasta is fully cooked.

Reviews

[Barbara DiPrima]

sauce was really good but if you add some red pepper flakes it kicks it up a notch. I rate this as excellent.