Pastas – Fresh Tastes by Bev
By Bev Laumann, Author of A Taste of The Good Life: A Cookbook for IC & OAB
Pasta, rice and potatoes are “safe” favorites with IC patients, but what to put on them? Here’s a flavorful and protein-packed Italian seafood dish that uses pasta– but no tomatoes! This versatile recipe can be used as a base for endless seafood-vegetable variations. Try adding some tiny cooked shrimp, or cut the basil in half and use basil linguine (with the basil in the noodles!) Mild vegetables such as zucchini squash work well when added too.
Linguine with White Clam Sauce
– serves 2
- 2 servings cooked linguine noodles
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 (8-oz.) bottles clam juice (see note)
- 2 (6-oz.) cans chopped clams (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1 tsp. dried parsley, or 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (see note)
- dash salt
- dash pepper (see note)
- In a medium saucepan, cook garlic cloves in the olive oil just until tender. Add bottled clam juice and turn heat to simmer. Open cans of clams and drain liquid. (Meanwhile, cook linguine). To the garlic and clam juice, add the clams, basil, parsley and salt (and pepper to taste, if desired). Bring clam sauce to a boil then reduce to simmer 2 or 3 minutes to let flavors blend. Pour the clam sauce over hot cooked and drained linguine noodles, and serve.
Note: The trick to avoiding bladder pain is being careful about the clams. Some canned clams and clam juices have monosodium glutamate (MSG), which causes most people with IC a lot of pain. Be sure to read the label. I’ve found Snow’s is a good brand, and their label now states right on the front– no MSG. Also, those with vulvodynia may find that parsley and black pepper will cause a problem– so omit those and increase the basil a bit. Or try substituting dried chervil for the dried parsley.