Linguine with Clam Sauce or Linguine Alle Vongole

Yum yum! I've made this clam linguine so many times and to rave reviews. It really is delicious and I first started making it back in the 1980's when I was just a young cook (weren't my 19 year old friends lucky to get this meal served up when they visited me?). This is an Umberto Menghi recipe and one that I'm sure he teaches his students at his cooking school in Tuscany. Well, today, you're getting it for free!

1 lb. of linguine cooked al dente: 3-5 minutes for fresh pasta and 5-7 minutes for packaged linguine.

Clam Sauce: Add one 12 ounce or 350 ml can of clams with clam liquid to a pot with 2cups of cold water, one onion diced, 1/4 cup of white wine, and 1 bayleaf. Boil for a few minutes and then drain pot except of course for clams and 1/2 cup of the liquid. In a separate pan, saute 1 1/2 garlic finely minced in 6 tbsp. of unsalted butter over medium heat...careful not to burn the garlic. Then add clams, clam liquid and 3 tbsp. of parsley to garlic and stir until blended and reduce by simmering for 4 minutes.

Then add an additional 1/3 cup of white wine to garlic, clams, clam liquid and parsley and reduce by simmering on medium heat for 2 minutes.

Finally season with salt and black pepper to taste! Love it!