2 teaspoons grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon juice
from 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Heat the
oil and 4 smashed garlic cloves in a large saucepan over
medium-high heat until the garlic cloves are gently
sizzling. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sizzle until
the garlic is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Discard the
garlic cloves, leaving the oil in the skillet, and return the
pan to high heat. Add the sliced garlic and pepper flakes
and cook, stirring, until the garlic just begins to turn pale
golden brown, about 45 seconds. Add the minced garlic
and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add
the wine, butter, and clams, cover, and cook, shaking the
pan occasionally, until the clams open, about 6 minutes.
Transfer the clams to a bowl, and set the sauce aside.
- Cook the pasta in the boiling water until it fully softened
but retains a slight bite in the center (about 1 minute less
than the package recommends after the pasta reaches a
boil). Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of cooking liquid,
and return to the pot set over medium-low heat. - Pour the sauce over the pasta, add half of reserved pasta
water, and stir until the sauce comes together and coats
the pasta, about 2 minutes, adding more pasta water as
necessary until the desired consistency is reached. Stir in
the clams, parsley, and lemon zest and juice and season
to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.