A guy I used to work with came up with the basis for this recipe one day. He was a good cook and seemed to create it as he was writing it down for me. Years later I was perusing The Joy of Cooking and found the recipe he claimed to have invented. We added the wine, butter, and flour.
If you’re looking for a creamy sauce, this is not it. The sauce in the photo was made with whole (they’re small) fresh clams (so none of the juice from the cans of clams). Captain OCD steamed some of the clams and made garlic butter to dip them in for an appetizer, then used what was left of the garlic butter (you can be sure he left no steamers) and more flour to make more of a sauce than this recipe makes. You might have guessed that he’s a fan of parsley.
Clam Sauce for Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 small cans minced clams with juice (of course, fresh clams are better)
- oregano to taste
- pepper ground, to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup wine
Instructions
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Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.
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Cook until onions are soft, being careful to not burn garlic.
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Add clams, parsley, seasonings, and wine.
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Bring to a simmer.
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Melt the butter (microwave works great for this). When melted, add flour and stir until lumps are gone.
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Stir butter/flour mixture into clams.
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Stir until sauce has thickened, at least one minute.
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Serve over pasta.
