Happy as a Clam

So as I was inspired by the massive influx of Italians that has recently taken place in Murcia for seemingly no reason, I decided that the best option would be take one of my Italian favorites, Linguine with White Clam Sauce (recently improved by Mario Batalli's book Fire and his endless diatribes about the never ending virtues of pasta water). However, since I'm in Murcia of course there were two essential modifications to the normal recipe to give the dish a little bit of desert flair. So on my trip to the market, I decided of course that I would amp up the usual dash of lemon juice to what could be considered epic proportions as well as add some Spanish spicy paprika (Pimentón Picante) rather then red pepper flakes. So I assembled all of the standard ingredients: linguine (2 boxes), white wine (I used Albariño from Galicia), red pepper, garlic, and the aforementioned lemons and paprika. As for the clams, I saw two options. One, I could go for pre-shucked canned clams. For those from the U.S. the prospect of canned seafood may seem a bit disturbing, but Spain is well known for having a wide variety of fantastic canned seafood. Option two, was to purchase these tiny little baby clams which were perched on the seafood shelf. I had never seen clams so small or with shells of that color (a brownish black), so it would certainly be a risk. Being as I am always obsessed with fresh ingredients I took the risk and bought a kilo of the yet unidentified "Japanese Clams" (Almejas japonesas). Upon arriving home I went through the normal steps, in addition to boiling an extra box of pasta simply to have some nice starchy water (thanks Mario), and put it all together. First, it was by far one of the best pasta dishes I've ever made. The only thing that can even rival it is a basil and tomato mixture fresh from the garden in Cape May. Second, the baby clams were unbelievable. Much more tender and with a much deeper and more complex flavor than littlenecks. I still have been unable to locate the origin or species of these strange baby clams, but if I do I will stash them in my suitcase and fly them home to the states through the volcano cloud, because I'd love to create my Italo-Murcian creation as often as possible.

(Photo of baby clams and recipe to follow)