Spicy Clams and Mussels over Pasta

Here is a real simple dish that we are actually going to have tomorrow night.

Spicy Clams and Mussels over Pasta

Ingredients
1 stick of unsalted butter
6 shallots, sliced
2 sweet onions, halved and sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups white wine
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
½ cup fresh Italian parsley chopped and stems removed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
24 littleneck clams, cleaned
24 mussels, cleaned
2 pound fresh linguine pasta
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions
Pasta: follow the directions on the package but only cook it to al dente – the pasta will be added to the sauce and you do not want to over cooked, once pasta is done and rinsed, quickly toss it with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.

Sauce: In a deep soup pot place the butter over medium high heat. Once butter has melted, add the onions and shallots and cook until they start to caramelize. Once the butter and the onions are a nice golden brown add garlic and heat the garlic for about a minute before you add the wine to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Also add the thyme sprigs at this time. Let simmer for 15 minutes. While sauce is simmering clean the clams and the mussels. After the 15 minutes add the red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste, raise the heat to high and add the clams and mussels to the pot: stir every few minutes to raise the clams and mussels on the bottom to the top. The clams and mussels should open up with in 5 to 8 minutes. If they all open sooner remove the pot from the heat and the clams and mussels from pot and set aside. If they all to not open within 8 minutes remove the pot from the pan and throw away any of the non open clams or mussels. Do not cook for more than 8 minutes the clams and mussels will get rubbery.
Add the parsley and the pasta to pot with sauce and toss well to coat. Now you can place the pasta in one big bowl and place the clams and mussels on top or serve it out into individual bowls. It up to you but serve within 5 minutes of the clams and mussels being removed from the pot.

Enjoy Cooking