Spaghetti with Oven Baked Clams

An impromptu trip to the Ballard Farmer's Market resulted in one dozen pacific oysters and two dozen steamer clams.  Fresh seafood for dinner!

I'm a seafood purist.  I don't like to alter the taste of seafood too much. Marinades, smothering in sauces, or basically doing anything to remove the actual flavor of the fish or shellfish seems silly to me.  But, we weren't in the mood for steamed clams, we needed something more substantial.  Tyler Florence to the rescue!

Tyler's recipe for Spaghetti with Oven Baked Clams has over 50 reviews and rated at 5 out of 5 stars.  Plus, it included a large amount of garlic and pancetta.  Score!

Diced pancetta and ten, yes ten, garlic cloves warming up...

Adding the uncooked clams, tomatoes, basil leaves, white wine, and black ground pepper.  Then, straight to the oven to pop those little clammies open!  I excluded the dried red chiles as the kids would be eating this too.  Can always add red pepper flakes to individual servings...

Add the pound of cooked pasta and your dinner is ready to go!

A very refreshing and flavorful dinner.  The clams still had their natural flavors and were enhanced by the garlic and pancetta. We will definitely be doing this again... hopefully when the sun is shining and we can dine al fresco!

Click here to view Tyler's recipe.