Shrimp, Clam, and Bacon Pasta

Whenever I go visit my dad on the Chesapeake Bay, I try to support his local farmers market, https://chesapeakesbounty.com/. Somehow, I can never get out of there without picking up the local clams. It’s such an easy protein to work with, and locally caught. We also go the thick-cut bacon from here too = double bonus!

My husband isn’t much of a clam person, but luckily loves shrimp too. (They are off-season to where we are now, so had to get at the grocery store.) So we decided it was a perfect combination to have a delicious family dinner.

(And yes, I know that a recipe like this is typically made with linguine, however, my husband is gluten-free. Although there are so many pasta varieties out there now that are gluten-free, linguine shape is extremely hard to find. So brown rice spaghetti it was!)

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 1 box dried pasta (optional: gluten-free, or linguine)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 lb thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
• 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 24 middle neck clams, scrubbed
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt
• 1 lemon, sliced
• Fresh parsley, minced

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, set aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add in bacon and onions. Cook just until the bacon is crispy. Remove cooked bacon and onions on paper towel, leaving bacon fat (if you want.)

Add shrimp and sauté until just cooked through. Remove from pan once cooked.

Add garlic, clams and wine.

Cover and cook for 5-12 minutes (depending on the size) until clams just opened up. (There will be lots of delicious broth at this point.)

Add to the clam dish: shrimp, bacon, onions, cooked linguine to the pot and toss to combine.

Add fresh squeezed lemons and fresh parsley. Serve warm.

(We were watching a very close football game at that time, so note that once combined, you can cover and allow to rest for a little bit… about 2 overtimes. lol.)