Red Sauce with Clams and Mussels

Joe and I have been alternating holidays since we started dating and this year, Christmas Eve was meant to be spent with my family.  We decided to host Christmas Eve dinner for a few reasons: 1) my mom had her annual family Christmas party this past Friday, 2) she would be hosting Christmas dinner, and 3) Staten Island is a mid-point for my family.  It was nice to take on the responsibility of hosting a major holiday but also, slightly terrifying.

In hopes of doing things right, we decided to attempt the feast of seven fishes.  Granted, we didn’t actually use 7 types of seafood (we only made it to four) but it’s the thought that counts.  Today I’ll be sharing our recipe for a red sauce with mussels and clams.  I promise it’s a simple recipe that is easy to do and will definitely impress your guests!

Red Sauce with Clams and Mussels

Ingredients:

• 4 Cans of red sauce
• 1 Net of mussels
• 1 Net of clams
• 3 Whole garlic cloves
• 3 Chopped garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Prep work: Before doing anything, you’ll need to go out and buy some fresh mussels and clams – just a net of each.  We waited until Sunday to make our purchase since we would be using them the next day.  We just tossed them into a bowl (kept in nets) and let them hang out in the fridge.

Instructions:

1)  Start preparing the marinara sauce.  To do this, start by adding olive oil to the bottom of a heated pot (low heat).  When the oil heats up, add the chopped and whole garlic clove until they brown.  Then add the four cans of tomato sauce.  Stir it all up and let it sit.

2)  Once the marinara sauce is done, you can either let it cool and store it in your refrigerator (which is what we did to make our lives simpler on Monday), or you can continue with the recipe.

3)  While the marinara sauce is simmering, you can start the prep work for the mussels and clams.  When you’re going to get ready to cook them, scrub each clam and drop it into a bowl of water for 20 minutes.  For the mussels, you just have to scrub and de-beard them.  While you’re cleaning the seafood, toss out anything with a cracked/broken shell or won’t close (to check that, just tap them – the healthy ones will close quickly).

4)  Once the marinara sauce is boiling and the seafood is prepped, you can start dropping them into the pot.  The clams and mussels will start opening.  If they don’t, go ahead and toss them out.

5)  When you’re almost ready to eat, boil a pot of water and drop in either linguine or thin spaghetti (really, whichever pasta you prefer) and  cook according to the box’s instructions.

6)  To serve, scoop the seafood out of the sauce, and toss it into a bowl (this way, your guests can choose how much and what seafood they’d like) and pour some of the sauce on top of the pasta.  Don’t forget another bowl on the table for those empty shells :)

Have you tried out a new recipe lately?  Perhaps hosted a holiday for the first time?  Anyone able to make it to seven fish?

PS – You can see more of our recipes here.