Clam Sauce with Canned Clams, Artichokes and Pancetta
Pasta and Clam Sauce with Canned Clams–for when need some clams but all you have are cans!Quicker, less fuss, more accessible and way more budget-friendly than fresh, live clams, canned clams are an unsung hero in your pantry. Here, they’re combined with artichokes and crispy pancetta in the most mouthwatering way possible to create your new favorite weeknight pasta!
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- Large Skillet or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup diced pancetta (5-6 ounces)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 Tbsp chopped or thinly sliced garlic (use more or less, as desired)
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves divided in half
- 1 cup dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- About 1½ cups strained clam juice from canned clams (reserve the rest; see Notes.)
- 1 pound pasta + salt for pasta water (See Notes.)
- 3-4 (10-ounce) cans whole baby clams (strain and reserve juice (see above and Notes.)
- 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts or quarters drained (quarter first if whole; about 1 heaping cup quartered artichoke hearts)
- 2 Tbsp butter at room temperature
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Gather and prep all ingredients according to specifications above. Put a large pot of water on to boil.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)
- Cook pancetta: Place pancetta and oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Slowly cook it until it becomes crispy and most of the fat has been rendered. (This could take 6-12 minutes, depending on the type of pan used.) Remove pancetta with slotted spoon and set it aside. Remove all but about 4 tablespoons of rendered fat from the pot and use for other purpose or discard. (If you don’t have enough rendered fat, add some olive oil to compensate.) NOTE: If the pancetta starts to brown/crisp but no or not enough fat has been rendered yet, turn the heat down a bit and cover the pan for a few minutes. Alternatively, if fat has rendered but the pancetta is taking a while to crisp, increase the what a bit.1 heaping cup diced pancetta, 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Add the garlic, crushed red pepper and half the chopped parsley to the rendered fat in the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the garlic has softened and browned a bit, stirring occasionally. You can cover the pan to speed this process up a bit if desired.3-4 Tbsp chopped or thinly sliced garlic, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper, ⅓ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- Then, pour the wine and black pepper in the pan and scrape up any brown bits.1 cup dry white wine, ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- Add clam juice, cover pan and bring to a simmer. Uncover and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the alcohol taste has cooked off. (Taste test to determine this.)About 1½ cups strained clam juice from canned clams
- Meanwhile, once the water comes to a boil, add salt, then the pasta and cook it for 2 minutes less than the package instructions, or two minutes less than al dente. Be sure to reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water (which you may or may not need.)1 pound pasta
- After the pasta has been cooking 5 minutes, add the artichokes and strained clams to the sauce just to heat through. Hold the sauce on warm while the pasta continues to cook.3-4 (10-ounce) cans whole baby clams, 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts or quarters
- When the pasta is ready, transfer it to the chunky clam sauce and increase the heat to medium. Stir well to fully combine all ingredients and let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce and absorb all of those wonderful flavors! Add pasta water or reserved clam juice if more moisture is needed.NOTE: The dish may seem a bit soupy at this point with more liquid than you’re used to, but don’t worry–the sauce will get absorbed by the pasta.
- Then, add the remaining parsley, reserved crispy pancetta and butter and stir gently until all ingredients are combined fully.NOTE: Another serving option is to only return half of the reserved pancetta to the cooked pasta during the final step, then use the remaining crispy pancetta to top off each individual bowl.2 Tbsp butter
- Finish with a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper and enjoy. Buon Appetito!NOTE: You can add the extra clam juice (heated) at any point if you feel it’s needed/if the dish is getting a bit dry.
Notes
Canned Clams:
- *The canned clams are already cooked and only need to be heated up in the sauce at the end. Don’t overcook the clams as they may become rubbery.
- I used 4 cans whole baby clams in this recipe, but you can make it with 3 cans. Four cans will give you more clams (obviously) and yield a heartier, fuller pasta. Your choice.
- Strain the canned clams from the clam juice and hold them separately.
- You may not need all the clam juice.
- Three cans of clam will yield almost 2 cups clam juice while 4 cans will yield about 2½ cups clam juice.
- I generally will start with about 1½ cups clam juice and then add more as needed once the pasta is added to the sauce.
- You can also keep the extra clam juice warm and add it to the finished dish if you feel it needs a bit more moisture.
- FYI, sometimes you can find ready-to-eat clams in vacuum sealed bags or in the freezer section of the grocery store, though they are less common. If you use these, you’ll need to purchase clam juice separately for this recipe.
- While chopped clams can be used here, I prefer the whole baby clams, or at least a mixture of the two, so that you get some solid chunks of clams in the finished dish.
- I don’t recommend minced clams for this recipe as they’re too small and lack texture.
- You can use bottled clam juice in place of reserved clam juice.
- Purchase thick slab pancetta (as opposed to thin slices) so that you can properly dice it. You can also purchase already diced pancetta.
- Make sure to remove the pancetta from the pan after crisping it, then add it back at the very end for the full crispy texture effect.
- You can substitute guanciale or diced prosciutto in place of the pancetta.
- While bacon can be substituted, it has a stronger, smoky flavor and may overpower the other ingredients, so it is not my favorite here. If you decide to use bacon, use about half the amount called for.
- Hot oil splashing up at you? Use a splatter screen when crisping the pancetta to keep things cleaner and (you) safer!
- Unused pancetta freezes really well for up to 3 months. Just wrap a few slices together (or about 1 cup of diced pancetta pieces) in individual packets so you only have to thaw the amount you need for future recipes.
- If you’ve purchased whole artichoke hearts, be sure to slice them into quarters before using.
- You can also chop them into smaller pieces if that’s what you prefer.
- For this recipe, it’s best to purchase plain artichoke hearts in brine as opposed to marinated artichokes in oil.
- I used vermicelli pasta here, which is a bit thinner than spaghetti, but this recipe works perfectly with spaghetti, linguine and bucatini.
- I also love it with shorter, chunkier paccheri pasta, which is often paired with seafood and, believe it or not, gnocchi (which is traditionally paired with clams in Rome).
- The butter is “mounted” on the finished pasta at the end for additional richness and silkiness, along with the extra-virgin olive oil.
- (FYI, this is how most restaurants finish every dish.)
- If you prefer to keep the dish dairy-free, just leave the butter out.
