Linguine with Clam Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups chopped seeded plum tomato
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons water
• 36 littleneck or quahog clams
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups hot cooked linguine (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes. Add tomato, parsley, and crushed red pepper; cook 3 minutes, and set aside.
2. Add water and clams to a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cover and cook 4 minutes or until shells open. Remove clams from pan, and reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Discard any unopened shells. Cool clams. Remove the meat from shells. Place cooking liquid in pan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Add clams, cooking liquid, and salt to tomato mixture. Serve clam sauce over pasta.