Spaghetti with Clams and Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Is that why they suggest the cheesecloth? I couldn't quite figure that one out.  I just posted how to clean the clams ahead of time with cornmeal to get rid of all the grit while the clams are alive.  Hope it helps.CLEANING CLAMS: I did scrub the clams with a vegetable brush and then put them in a single layer in a container filled with cool water and 2 tbl cornmeal for an hour in the fridge. I hadn't done this before, and read a few online reviews.  Many said you don't need to do this with farm raised clams, but I will tell you that there was some dark grit at the bottom of the container after an hour. Not a ton, but enough that I was glad I did it. AND, I didn't get any gritty clams.  They were all fabulous. Up to you whether you want to spend the time.

Adored this dish. Made as directed, then garnished each bowl with some of CL's Spicy Anchovy Breadcrumbs, which gave it a toasty, spicy crunch.

I made this for my husband for his birthday.......IT WAS DELICIOUS. We had guests for dinner and they all agreed the flavors were crisp and clean. Even the non clam lovers enjoyed the meal. I served it with a salad and plenty of bread to soak up the liquid. My mistake was not straining it through cheesecloth. I didn't have any on hand so i used 2 very fine strainers but that wasn't enough to catch all the grit. It did fall to the bottom of the serving dish so we could work around it. I will be buying more cheesecloth!!!! This is a keeper!!!

We enjoyed this - lots of fresh, bright flavors, although perhaps a bit TOO subtle for people (like us) who like big, bold flavors and lots of spice. If I make this again, I'll add more roasted cherry tomatoes or maybe a can of fire-roasted diced. We used a fresh baguette to mop up the liquid - yum!

I made this for my husband last night. We are catholic and I was looking for better than the average fish dinner for Friday. This was amazing! We did add one can of clams to the sauce in addition to the 48 fresh. It was so good my husband ate all but one portion! He can't wait to have it again....