Clams, Chard and Broth Pasta
The broth does the work of a sauce here instead of a soup: reduced hard with clam liquor and a melted anchovy until it's glossy enough to cling. The chard stems go in early and stay slightly crunchy, which is most of the pleasure.
Ingredients
- dry pasta (linguine, spaghetti or short shapes all work)200 g
- canned chopped clams1 can, drained — keep the juice
- homemade chicken bone broth1½ cups
- rainbow chard4–5 leaves, stems separated and sliced thin, leaves torn
- salt-packed anchovies2 fillets, rinsed well and boned
- garlic3 cloves, sliced thin
- olive oil3 tbsp, plus more to finish
- chili flakesa good pinch
- ricotta2 spoonfuls, optional, to finish
- lemona squeeze, if you have one
- black pepperplenty
Method
Get a pot of well-salted water going for the pasta. Rinse the salt-packed anchovies under cold water, rub the salt off, and pull the fillets from the backbone.
Watch for
Rinsed properly they should smell savory and clean, not aggressive. If they still taste like a salt lick, rinse again.
Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-low with the garlic, chili flakes and anchovy fillets. Press the anchovies with a spoon.
Watch for
The anchovies dissolve into the oil in about two minutes and the garlic turns pale gold — not brown. Brown garlic here will run the whole dish.
Add the sliced chard stems and a pinch of salt. Cook 3 minutes, then add the torn leaves and let them collapse.
Watch for
Stems should still have a little resistance when you bite one.
Pour in the reserved clam juice and the broth. Raise the heat and boil hard until reduced by about half.
Watch for
It should coat the back of a spoon thinly and leave a trail when you drag the pan — this is the whole trick, and it takes longer than you think. Five to seven minutes at a real boil.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta two minutes shy of the package time. Lift it straight into the skillet with tongs, along with a splash of pasta water.
Watch for
Wet pasta carrying starch is what makes the sauce emulsify rather than sit in a puddle.
Toss over medium-high for the last two minutes of cooking, then stir in the clams and cut the heat.
Watch for
The clams only need to warm through — a minute more and they go rubbery. The sauce should look creamy and cling to each strand; loosen with pasta water if it tightens.
Finish with black pepper, a squeeze of lemon and a thread of raw olive oil. Spoon the ricotta on top at the table if you want it richer.