1 dozen cherry stone or blue-point clams
4 garlic cloves, chopped very finely
1/2 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped very finely
a sprinkle of red pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup olive oil
1 (1 lb.) box linguine

Remove clams from liquid and set aside. Strain liquid to remove any sand or clam shells, and set aside. Remove black pieces from shucked clams, and mince clams as best you can. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, add oil. Heat thoroughly and add garlic, parsley, red pepper and salt and pepper. Allow garlic to sauté until it is golden in color. Do not burn garlic! This will completely change the taste of the sauce.

When garlic is cooked, add strained liquid to pan and allow all to cook until liquid looks as if it is foaming up. When this happens, turn off the heat, and add chopped clams. Clams will cook in the heat of the sauce and do not need to cook any further.

If it seems that a lot of oil is being used, keep in mind that this is essentially a sauce of oil and garlic and deserves more than the usual amount of oil used in traditional sauces.

Boil linguini according to package directions, strain and then add a cup of this sauce to the already cooked pasta. This will help pasta not to stick together and the pasta will be infused with the sauce. Pour sauce over individually served portions of linguini.

Submitted by: Norina Lundy