Linguine with Olive-Clam Sauce

This linguine dish takes the classic white clam sauce and gives it more body. Instead of a loose, brothy sauce, a quick roux of butter, olive oil, and flour thickens everything into a creamy, clinging coating for the pasta.

The clam juice from the can gets mixed with milk to build the sauce base, so you’re getting concentrated brine flavor with a velvety richness. Chopped California olives add a mild, buttery saltiness that plays well against the briny clams, and a splash of wine brightens the whole thing up.

Saute the garlic gently over medium-low heat. One minute. You want it fragrant and soft, not browned and bitter.

Chef Tips

• Save the clam liquid before draining. That juice is liquid gold for the sauce and carries more flavor than anything you could add from a bottle.
• Add the milk-clam juice mixture off the heat, then return to the stove and stir constantly as it thickens. This prevents lumps in the roux.
• Don’t overcook the clams. They’re already cooked in the can, so they just need to heat through. Extended cooking turns them rubbery.

Variations

• Use Kalamata olives instead of California black olives for a bolder, more Mediterranean flavor.
• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for gentle heat.
• Swap linguine for spaghetti or bucatini if that’s what you have in the pantry.