January 30, 2020

Clams with Tomato Broth and Gluten Free Spaghetti

This isn’t your typical “Pasta with Clams in Red Sauce.” The simple browning of the tomato paste sets this recipe above the rest with an incredible depth of flavor that is truly amazing. This flavor combined with the salty, briny liquid released from steaming the clams…OMG! Clams with Red Broth and Gluten Free Spaghetti is a total “slurpable” winner.

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Main Ingredients

cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and shallots

Cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, shallots, garlic, littleneck clams and butter are the base of the dish.

Shallots, Garlic and Tomato Paste

To get started, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then add the garlic, shallots and hot pepper flakes if using. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the tomato paste. Cook for an additional minute, until the tomato paste begins to darken. The cooking of the tomato paste is an important step in this recipe and creates the base of flavor for the dish.

Cooking and Softening of Cherry Tomatoes

Next, add cherry tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Add Clams and Butter

Place clams and butter into skillet.

Cover Skillet w Foil (or Lid) to Steam Clams

cover skillet with tin foil to steam the clams

Cover with foil. Let clams steam and butter melt. Cook for 6-10 minutes, until clams open.

Clams with Tomato Broth

Remove skillet from stovetop; discard any clams that don’t open. You can serve directly from the skillet and sprinkle with chives or scallions. Or…

Clams with Tomato Broth and Gluten Free Spaghetti

Clams in Tomato Broth with gluten free pasta

…you can add spaghetti to the skillet. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside until clams have opened and butter is melted. Add spaghetti to the skillet using tongs and carefully mix into the broth. Then garnish with chives or scallions. Serve in the skillet.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Clams with Tomato Broth and Gluten Free Spaghetti

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: barilla gluten free pasta, barilla pasta, Bionaturae spaghetti, cherry tomatoes, gluten free, littleneck clams, tomato paste

Servings: 4 people

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves thinly sliced or minced
2 large shallots thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups cherry tomatoes you can use grape tomatoes but they don’t soften as easily
pinch kosher salt
1 cup dry white wine (See NOTE section in recipe below regarding White Wine.)
36 littleneck clams scrubbed and soaked in water to clean
6 tablespoons unsalted butter* cold and cut into pieces
3 tablespoons chives or scallions finely chopped, optional
3/4 package (approx.) gluten free spaghetti I use Barilla or Bionaturae, pasta is optional

Instructions

Before getting started, clean the clams. Let them soak in a large bowl to release any sand they may be storing. Give them a stir with your hands or a large spoon to quicken the process. You may have to do this 2-3 times. Then drain the water and set clams aside. There’s nothing worse than eating sand so this is an important step!
Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
When oil is heated, add sliced garlic, shallots, and hot pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until just softened, about 2 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until paste darkens slightly, about 1 minute.
Then add cherry tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 4 minutes.
Add wine and cook until liquid is almost reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
Add clams and butter to skillet and cover (if you don’t have a lid that fits, use foil). Cook until clams have opened and butter has melted, 6–10 minutes, depending on size of clams and heat level. Remove skillet from stovetop; discard any clams that don’t open. Sprinkle with chives or scallions and serve directly in the skillet.
If adding pasta, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside until clams have opened and butter is melted. Add pasta to the skillet using tongs and carefully mix in to the broth. Then garnish with chives or scallions. Serve in the skillet.

Notes

*If watching your calories, you can reduce the amount of butter or use butter alternatives. Reducing or modifying the butter will affect the overall silkiness of the sauce.

For the white wine, use whatever you have open in the refrigerator. If you don’t have any open, use a wine that you like to drink and have a glass with your meal.

It’s best to use cherry tomatoes for this recipe over grape tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes have a thinner skin and will soften more easily which makes for a better tomato sauce. If you can’t find cherry tomatoes, by all means use the grape tomatoes.

Make sure your clams are fresh. If they smell very fishy, they’re not good.

When steaming clams, they release a lot of liquid and this liquid is what’s critical to forming the tomato broth. If you use more than 36 clams, the broth will be thinner because of the additional released liquid.

The broth is so delicious, you’ll want a spoon to slurp it up. Even better, find some good, crusty gluten free bread, toast it up and dip in. If not gluten free, toast or grill some nice thick slices of sourdough.

If using pasta, it’s easy to substitute other pastas (gluten free or not) instead of the gluten free spaghetti I used.

Original recipe from Bon Appetit and modified slightly by me for gluten free eating.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Michelle’s House Salad, Sauteed Shrimp Cocktail, and Crab Pasta with Spicy Lemon Oil.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.