This recipe from the April 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living calls for bucatini, which is a long, hollow pasta. It’s a nice change from regular spaghetti or linguine and it does a great job soaking up the sauce. This recipe uses pantry staples—salt, olive oil, garlic, oregano, hot pepper flakes, canned tomatoes, canned clams, capers and pasta. It’s a perfect weeknight supper—the sauce takes about 10 minutes to cook and then you add the not-quite-cooked pasta to it to finish the dish.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this recipe that may contain artificial ingredients include the tomatoes, clams and capers. Look for San Marzano canned plum tomatoes that contain only tomatoes and salt, clams with only clam juice and salt and an all-natural brand of capers, such as Crosse & Blackwell.

See the holes? Bucatini is a hollow pasta.

Use canned clams with no artificial ingredients added

First, simmer sauce.

Add clams and heat through.

Add slightly undercooked pasta and cook until done.

Bucatini with clam sauce and hot pepper.

Ingredients:

Coarse salt

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 garlic cloves, smashed

½ teaspoon dried oregano

Red-pepper flakes

1 can (14 ounces) whole plum tomatoes, chopped, plus ½ cup juice

2 cans (6.5 ounces each) chopped clams, drained, reserving 1 cup clam juice

1 tablespoon capers (preferably salt-packed), rinsed and drained

3/4 pound bucatini (perciatelli) or other long pasta

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

While bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil, heat oil with garlic, oregano, and a large pinch of red-pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until fragrant and garlic is golden, about 2 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and their juice, and the reserved clam juice. Bring to a simmer, and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in clams and capers, and cook until heated through.

When water boils, add pasta to boiling water, and cook until almost al dente, about 10 minutes (do not drain water). Transfer pasta to skillet using a strainer. Gradually stir in 1 cup pasta water, about 1/2 cup at a time, and cook over low heat, tossing, until pasta has absorbed some sauce and is well coated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Divide among 4 bowls. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with red-pepper flakes and coarse sea salt. Serves 4.

From the April 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living

Bucatini