I love the flavors of garlic and turmeric with shellfish, adding fresh basil, clam juice and a splash of gin, brings this clam unique linguine recipe to a new level.
Spicy Turmeric & Habanero Clam Linguine
Print This Recipe Yield 6Source Adapted from Zakary PelaccioPublished
Ingredients
- 8 clove garlic, unpeeled
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 habanero, seeded & minced, plus more for garnish if desired
- 2 cup packed whole basil leaves plus ½ cup chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon coarsely cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup gin
- 1 cup bottled clam juice
- 48 littleneck clams, scrubbed
- 1 lime, zest only
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 pound dried linguine
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more as seasoning as needed
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Loosely wrap the garlic cloves in foil and bake for about 25 minutes, until very soft. Peel the garlic. Set aside.
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt. Drop the pasta into the boiling water, stir to separate and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Reserving the empty pot to use later.
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil. Add the garlic, turmeric and minced habanero and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the whole basil leaves, black pepper, gin and clam juice, cover and cook over low heat until the liquid has reduced to ½ cup, about 10 minutes. Strain the reduction into the large large pot you boiled the linguine in, pressing on the solids.
Bring the strained liquid to a boil. Add the clams, cover and cook, shaking the pot a few times, until they start to open, 3 minutes; as the clams open, transfer them to a bowl and keep covered. When all of the clams have opened, boil the broth over high heat until reduced to about 2 cups of clam broth, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime zest and lime juice.
Add the cooked linguine to the pot with the reduced clam broth and toss to coat. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated into the sauce. Transfer the pasta to the pot, stirring to combine. Turn the pasta out onto a serving bowl. Top with the clams, chopped basil and additional minced habernero if desired. Serve warm with lime wedges on the side.
Wow! How creative–this looks awesome!
i’m so loving this flavor combination. and even more, i think almost any “cake” is better when baked in a cast iron skillet. those caramelized, perfectly browned and crisped edges… oh my!
That is my kind of combo—including the blogging absence.
That is a thing of beauty, Greg! Perfectly golden. (Secret — I’ve never made even a plain skillet corn bread)
Glad you are back. I am taking a blog break after Labor Day but this is my prime season.
love this — sounds delicious and looks so sweetly rustic
my world did stop in your abscence, and it was quite a shock to the system. It’s nice to feel the Earth spinning again. Oh… and nice cake!
I just stumbled upon your blog and this recipe seems AMAZING! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
and it’s also good to see you back!
especially when you bring this kind of cake! I prefer natural sweet as well, and I love rosemary in desserts! I AM going to make this one, thanks for sharing!
This is my kind of cake… rosemarry should be used more in desserts! YOu def got my attention 🙂
Wow, does that sound good.
What if you sweetened the whipped cream with truffle honey? OMG, with the rosemary.
This looks like something you’d get in a rustic French cafe. It sounds delicious!
Glad that the world didn’t end. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t but it’s lovely to see you back again. 🙂
awww. well glad you’re on the mend.
you do have a lot on your plate these days.
a break is good; i’m thinking of taking one soon for summer BUT
we never get sun here on cape cod. i miss my cali sun!
i’m a huge fan of skillet cakes. savory or sweet easy cleanup too
Glad you’re feeling better! I’ve always been envious of your very consistent posting schedule no matter how busy you seem to be. Me? I’ve been absent for as long as three weeks at a time–and not without guilt I might add. These days if I can manage one post a week, I’m happy.
This is my kind of sweet treat, too. Love everything about it especially the caramelized peaches. Welcome back! 🙂