Spaghetti a la Vongole

This is one of my very favorite pasta recipe. I learned it from a wonderful woman who is partly Italian. We used to get together all the time and she was always cooking some fabulous meals, I used to be amazed at how easy cooking was for her. Her dishes all came together in no time and always looking picture perfect and tasting out of this world. She was (and still is - although I don't see her much anymore since we live in different countries) a great source of inspiration to me.

Serves 2

Ingredients
Olive oil - enough to cover the bottom of your skillet plus 2-3 tbsp
4-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp chile pepper
1-10 oz baby clams
1-14.5oz tomatoes
Fresh parsley
8 oz spinach spaghettis, cooked to directions

Directions
Heat olive oil on medium heat. When oil is hot but not burning (olive oil is sensitive to heat and will become saturated if over heated) add garlic, reduce heat to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes (this will infuse the olive oil with the garlic taste and also it will caramelized the garlic). Remove garlic from oil (keep garlic infused oil in skillet you will need it in a minute) and smash it with the side of the blade of your knife on your chopping board to create a paste, set aside. Strain clams directly over the skillet, set clams aside. Reduce clam broth by 1/2 by simmering for approximately 5 minutes. Puree tomatoes in food processor and add to clam broth. Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the liquid a bit. Add clams, simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Add garlic paste, fresh parsley and a bit of salt.

Serve over your spinach pastas and enjoy!