I don’t know about you but my counter space is starting to get filled up with preparations for Thanksgiving. With spiced nuts, savory jams, stuffed olives, stuffing, pumpkins, spices, stock, fried onions, and other scrumptious bits waiting for the BIG day taking up space on my counter, it’s super hard to get inspired to cook tonight’s meal. And, I don’t want to spend too much time cooking when I know I’ll be packing in two days worth of stove watching in a week.

So, it’s dinners like clam linguini/spaghetti that I turn to in times like these (it doesn’t hurt that they’re super easy and delicious).

Super Easy Clam Linguini

Serves 2.5

• 15 little neck clams (live)
• a splash of white wine (and then you can drink the rest of the bottle while preparing and eating your easy dinner)
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 1/2 lemon, cut into super thin slices with the peel
• a pinch of red pepper flakes (we save these for after the kiddo gets her serving)
• a pinch of parsley for color and freshness
• linguini for 3 (you can use spaghetti in a pinch)
• salt
• reserved pasta water
• Parmesan cheese

Start a pot of water over high heat until boiling. Add a good 1 TBSP of salt to the boiling water (this is the only salt in the dish) then add your pasta. Cook according to the package directions.

In a pan, heat your butter and oil. Add shallots and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 min). Add clams and a splash of your wine. Cover and let steam until the clams open. Once opened, add your lemon and cooked pasta. At this point, you might need to add a bit of the reserved pasta water (I usually add 1 – 2 ladles).

Sprinkle with parsley and serve with Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!!