Tender, canned Bar Harbor are combined with delicious carbonara sauce in this simple, yet amazingly delicious Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce that’s perfect for any night of the week!
I think I like this recipe too much to share it. If I share the recipe it usually comes off the rotation. I really should stop doing that. There are some TOTALLY delicious recipes on this blog of mine that we should make repeatedly. Any of the joes recipes come to mind. You should check those out. SO GOOD!
This recipe is SO GOOD, too! Especially if you find clams that are not rubbery that taste tender and sweet like clams should. It took me a minute to find ones that I truly enjoy eating.
Wait, you didn’t know I was picky? Oh my. Well, let me skool ya on the seafood part of my pickiness. If it’s fishy, rubbery, difficult to chew, or have a musky flavor I will not enjoy eating it. I love steamed mussels, but only so many. After about 15 or so I start to lose interest and the insides I can see start to bother me. OR I get one that’s totally rubber and not tender and I’m done for.
Fish MUST be fresh and have NO fishy or metalic flavor. Catfish and salmon taste like metal to me. So, I do not enjoy eating them. At all. I LOVE catching catfish because they’re great fighters, but cannot stand eating them.
Salmon just DOES NOT taste good to me at all. Sacrilege I know. But, I don’t care how you cook it, steam it, smoke it, braise it, marinate it, or brine it. I have tried almost every type of salmon cooked every type of way possible. Just don’t like it. Like crawfish. Just don’t like those either.
I could eat my weight in crab. And I think I have at some point. And shrimp. I could pound a pound or two of those. Then there’s lobstah! I don’t think I’ve met anyone who didn’t love lobster. I didn’t used to like the tails and would eat just the claws, but I’ve grown to appreciate the complex flavor of the tails.
I told you I was picky.
Fish? Meh. I know I love me some swordfish. And FRESH tuna. Seriously fresh tuna. And group. I’ve had some good grouper, but it can get a bit fishy. My mahi mahi recipe changed my mind about that one. I didn’t used to like it, but I suppose it was never truly fresh when I’ve eaten it. If I get it from Crosby’s, then I know it will be delicious and fresh.
Oysters. I’m still on the fence about those. I could eat a few fried. I will never, repeat NEVER touch them raw. I love oyster stew, but don’t like the rubbery oysters in the stew. Dad always said I like oyster flavored potato soup. And he’s right about that and chowder. I love chowder, but see the beginning of this post; not if the clams are rubbery. And not if it’s packed with rosemary. There’s a restaurant near where I used to live that has SO much rosemary you can’t taste anything else. So, back off the rosemary, kay?
Yeah. I know. This really doesn’t have much to do with this recipe except I’m picky with my seafood and finally found some delicious canned clams that I think taste amazing and isn’t like eating a tire. Bar Harbor. As in Bar Harbor, Maine, but not. Bar Harbor has THE BEST canned clams I’ve tasted. They’re tender and not chewy. There is no fishy flavor in these clams, either.
Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce
Tender, canned Bar Harbor are combined with delicious carbonara sauce in this simple, yet amazingly delicious Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce that’s perfect for any night of the week!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces clam juice
- 8 ounces uncooked linguine (or other long pasta)
- 1/2 cup egg substitute (or two large eggs lightly beaten)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch crushed red pepper
- 6 ounces chopped clams (I used Bar Harbor and they were delicious)
Instructions
- Heat a medium pot of water on high heat until boiling. Add the bottled clam juice and the juice from the canned clams and the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking combine the next four ingredients (egg substitute through nutmeg) in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and garlic to the cold pan to allow them to heat up with the pan. Once the garlic begins to sizzle, sauté 2 to 3 minutes or until very fragrant. Add the drained clams and sauté until heated through, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, reserve one cup of the pasta water before straining the pasta. Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl and stir in the egg mixture. Add the reserved pasta water as needed to create a thick and creamy sauce. This can be as much as the whole cup. Fold the clams into the pasta before serving with garlic bread and a tossed salad.
Carlee says
That looks soooooo good! My husband and I would love it and my little guy probably would too. It’s going on my must make list!
Chris says
Thank you! I hope you love it as much as we do. I’ve made it repeatedly.