Buckytom's Lemon and Garlic Clams

as per california cook's request, here's the recipe for clams i made last week.

ingredients:

2 dozen littleneck or cherrystone clams
1/3 stick unsalted butter
1 cup of water
1 cup white wine - optional, instead or combined with water to equal a cup
8 cloves of garlic, about 2 heaping tbsps. minced
4 shallots, about 1 cup minced
a handful of fresh parsley, about a loose 1/2 cup or more chopped
a good pinch each of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 lemon, quartered
2 tbsps evoo
1/4 cup grated parmesan - optional
1 lb linguini - optional

in a deep saute pan over medium heat, add the evoo and shallots, and saute for just a minute, then add the garlic.
when the garlic and shallots have sweated and are just beginning to toast, add the butter.

let butter melt and foam, stirring the shallots and garlic so it doesn't burn, then add the water. you may use a light white wine like a pinot grigio instead or mixed with the water for another level of flavour.

bring to a boil over high heat, then squeeze 2 lemon quarters into the pan, and add the other two quarters. add pinches of salt and pepper. reduce heat to medium high so it's not boiling out of control.

add the clams, then sprinkle most of the parsely over top, reserving some for final presentation. cover and set your timer for 2 minutes.

check your clams to see if they've opened after 2 minutes. if almost all have opened, turn the heat off, cover, and shake the pan a bit. if only half or so have opened, cover and let simmer for another minute.

using tongs, remove clams to a serving bowl, and pour pan liquid over top. sprinkle with remaining parsley, and serve with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

or, a little neater way is to remove the clams to the serving platter, and strain the pan liquid into a seperate serving bowl for dipping.

if it's to be cooked with pasta, remove clams and cover them with foil. turn heat up to high to reduce the pan liquid for a minute or two, then put the clams back in and add cooked and well drained pasta, and toss to incorporate sauce and clams. top with reserved parsley, and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

edited to add: i've found it's helpful to put the clams submerged in a bowl of cold water for a few hours on the counter to help them spit out any sand before cooking.

yummy!! you should add the pics from the dinner thread.

This sound delicious! I definitely have to try this.

Mmmmm Sounds great!

buckytom said:

as per california cook's request, here's the recipe for clams i made last week.

ingredients:

2 dozen littleneck or cherrystone clams
1/3 stick unsalted butter
1 cup of water
1 cup white wine - optional, instead or combined with water to equal a cup
8 cloves of garlic, about 2 heaping tbsps. minced
4 shallots, about 1 cup minced
a handful of fresh parsley, about a loose 1/2 cup or more chopped
a good pinch each of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 lemon, quartered
2 tbsps evoo
1/4 cup grated parmesan - optional
1 lb linguini - optional

in a deep saute pan over medium heat, add the evoo and shallots, and saute for just a minute, then add the garlic.
when the garlic and shallots have sweated and are just beginning to toast, add the butter.

let butter melt and foam, stirring the shallots and garlic so it doesn't burn, then add the water. you may use a light white wine like a pinot grigio instead or mixed with the water for another level of flavour.

bring to a boil over high heat, then squeeze 2 lemon quarters into the pan, and add the other two quarters. add pinches of salt and pepper. reduce heat to medium high so it's not boiling out of control.

add the clams, then sprinkle most of the parsely over top, reserving some for final presentation. cover and set your timer for 2 minutes.

check your clams to see if they've opened after 2 minutes. if almost all have opened, turn the heat off, cover, and shake the pan a bit. if only half or so have opened, cover and let simmer for another minute.

using tongs, remove clams to a serving bowl, and pour pan liquid over top. sprinkle with remaining parsley, and serve with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

or, a little neater way is to remove the clams to the serving platter, and strain the pan liquid into a seperate serving bowl for dipping.

if it's to be cooked with pasta, remove clams and cover them with foil. turn heat up to high to reduce the pan liquid for a minute or two, then put the clams back in and add cooked and well drained pasta, and toss to incorporate sauce and clams. top with reserved parsley, and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

edited to add: i've found it's helpful to put the clams submerged in a bowl of cold water for a few hours on the counter to help them spit out any sand before cooking.

Click to expand...

I've read two different ways to do this---some say soak in fresh water, some say to soak in salt water. Some people even say to add a little cornmeal to the water. I've only cooked clams two or three times, and I was always afraid to soak them for very long because I thought it might kill them. Obviously not, thanks for the info .

i've never tried the salt water method cooksie, only cold, plain tap water. there's almost always a bit of sand in the bottom, so it helps, somewhat.

i've left clams and mussels submerged in a bowl in the fridge overnight oops, and only 1 or 2 died each time.

there was no more or less sand spit out.

i've also tried the cornmeal method, but it hasn't seemed to work any bette, either.

to all: please remember that my measurements aren't exact, only what i might guesstimate from memory, so add the amount that you feel would be right.

Much appreciated, BT. Thanks so much. I've read about cleaning beards (?) etc., & didn't think I'd wanna get into all that. Now I won't be skeered. LOL.

you'll find beards on mussels more, but usually they've been cleaned before being sold.

if you do get something with a beard, you really just rip it off. good for getting out aggression.