Linguine with Red Clam Sauce

Good evening! Today I am going for a mostly pantry meal. Normally one might make this dish with bottled clam juice or similar, but I actually had some frozen shrimp stock that I decided to incorporate into the dish (well, not all of it. Turns out I had a lot more than I thought). And I'm leaving the wine out, because although I know there's some in the pantry somewhere, the where has escaped me. Hope you enjoy!

2-3 tablespoons olive oil (30 cents)
1/2 onion, roughly chopped (15 cents)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (3 cents)
salt and pepper to taste (penny)
1 teaspoon thyme (2-3 cents)

1 can crushed tomatoes (50 cents)
1 cup clam juice or shrimp broth (this was free to me, since I used shells from shrimps)
splash lemon juice (5 cents)
salt and pepper to taste (penny)
pinch sugar (penny)

1 can clams (~1 dollar, though I don't know what they cost these days

8 ounces linguine, cooked according to package directions (75 cents - man, pasta is getting pricey! 1.59 if you use the whole pound)

Heat your pan to medium and add the oil. Heat the oil, then add the onion, salt, pepper and thyme. Sweat down for a bit then add garlic and cook another couple minutes. Add tomatoes, clam/shrimp juice (I pour this in the tomato can first to help get out the stuff that's stuck to the can), salt, pepper and sugar. Cook down until thick (this took me longer than it will take you, because I was watching tv so I had the heat pretty low. So figure 15-20 minutes), then add clams. Cook another minute or so, until the clams are heated. Toss with pasta, eat. Serves two. Also nice with a loaf of freshly baked bread.

If you want to add more cans of clams, the sauce can be a little thinner. Also if you are using fresh clams, which really would make this dish far more impressive than mine looks and you could leave out the clam/shrimp juice because your clams will provide it. If you want to stretch this to four servings, just use the rest of the pound of pasta.

This picture is horrific, but the food is yum.

Total cost (2 servings): $2.84 (4 servings): $3.68
Per serving (2 servings): $1.42 (4 servings): $0.92

Comments

  1. Mary Bergfeld10:31 PM

    Allie, I can't begin to tell you how much I love clam sauce - red or white. I don't have a recipe for red so this is very timely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allie11:51 AM

    Perfect timing, Mary! I hope you enjoy it - it's very adaptable so you can modify it for your needs at the moment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous6:04 PM

    I DO enjoy! All the ingredients are perfect. It must have been delicious :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Allie10:57 AM

    Maryann,

    It was really good, and even nicer because it was quick to make and didn't require a trip to the store!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:10 PM

    I love the fact that you throw the price in there... so key in this economy. Not to mention, it looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Allie5:18 PM

    Joe,

    Thanks so much! Almost without exception (there are a few glaring exceptions I'm sure you could find), I cook very, very frugally. I often forget to list the prices of each item, but generally am able to feed up to four on 5 dollars or less.

    Sometimes I think it helps people feel less hurt (eating wise) by the economy when they see the diversity that's still available even under budget constraints.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous6:42 PM

    Sounds soooo good! I think I know what I'll be making for dinner tomorrow...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Allie12:49 PM

    Thanks, Martha! I hope you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete

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