Italian Tomato Sauce Clams

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes, diced
• sugar
• 1 loaf French bread
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lbs live clams (freshly bought the day of cooking)
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 sprigs Italian parsley
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 Tablespoon thyme leaves

Directions

1. After buying your fresh, live clams the day of cooking, store them in the fridge in a colander sitting over a bowl, and covered loosely with a damp paper towel.
2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and sugar to taste (about 1/2 tsp). Simmer for at least 1/2 hour, preferably for a whole hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 325F.
5. Slice your bread to 1/2 inch thickness. Spread a little olive oil on each slice. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. If necessary, scrub and de-beard your clams. Throw away any clams with broken shells. Tap any shells that are open, and if they do not close up, then throw them out.
7. Put 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet that has a lid. Heat, then add onion and cook about 3 minutes. Do not brown.
8. Add the sprigs of parsley and thyme to the pan and cook another 30 seconds, then add the wine. Boil, then simmer 5 minutes.
9. Add the clams. Cover, turn the heat to high and cook 5-8 minutes, or until the clams have opened. Shake the pan frequently to stir, but do not take off the lid.
10. After clams have opened, remove from heat. Throw out any clams that did not open.
11. Strain the cooking liquid into the tomato sauce. Throw out the sprigs and the onion.
12. Place toasted bread in a ring around the outside of the serving bowl. Place the clams in the middle of the bowl and pour the tomato sauce over them.
13. Garnish with chopped parsley and thyme.