Clams and Chorizo Sausage in a Cream Sauce with Penne Pasta

(Adapted from Pasquale Sciarappa Recipes)

This recipe can be served as an entrée or with bread as an appetizer. It uses chorizo a highly seasoned sausage made with fresh pork for Mexican style and smoked for the Spanish version. This recipe uses Spanish chorizo which is seasoned made with garlic and either sweet or hot smoked paprika which gives it a deep red color. It is a dark, smoky, and tangy sausage. Because Mexican and Spanish style chorizos have such different flavors, they are not interchangeable in recipes, so be sure to use Spanish chorizo for this one.

Ingedients:

5 clams, purged and cleaned

1 pkg. penne pasta

6 Spanish chorizo sausages, quartered

13 oz. on-the-vine tomatoes, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

½ of a small sweet onion, chopped

Handful basil, chopped

Handful parsley, chopped

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

Begin by washing the clams five times to remove the sand. To clean the clams, place the clams in a bowl and fill with cold water. Mix around and drain. Repeat four more times. Fill the bowl with water again and add three tablespoons of sea salt to remove any sand left. Mix and let sit for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, drain the clams, mix with cold water once again, and drain. Set aside.

Add a drizzle of olive oil to a deep and large (5 quart) pan and heat over medium to high heat.

Add in the chorizo, garlic and onion and sauté for about four minutes, making sure to mix around to cook evenly and not burn.

Lower the heat and slowly pour in the wine. Cook for another two minutes over medium heat, allowing the alcohol to burn off. Remove the chorizo slices from the pan and set aside on a dish, leaving the garlic and onion in the pan.

Add the tomatoes into the pan with the garlic and onions and cook over medium to high heat for about two minutes.

Add the chorizo back into the frying pan with the tomatoes. Cook all together over medium heat for ten minutes.

Next, add the heavy cream, butter, half of the parsley, and the basil. Season with salt and black pepper and mix until the butter has fully melted.

Add in the clams and mix with the sauce. Cover and continue to cook over medium to low heat until most of the clams have opened up. Make sure to check every minute to not let them over cook.

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and basil on top and a side of bread to dip in the sauce as an appetizer. It can also be served as an entree over pasta.

Enjoy