Baked Clams

Summary

Yield	4
Prep Time	1 hours
Main Ingredient	Seafood/Fish
Meal	Entrees
Season	Any Time

Description

Not everyone loves big fat Atlantic surf clams. Salty, chewy, and briny in the extreme, there is nothing better eaten raw, though very few are sold for that purpose in the part of the country where I live, Minnesota. I like to take fresh large cherrystone clams about 2 inches high and about 3 inches across and shuck them, serving them on the half shell with buttered toast and a sturdy cocktail sauce, a big pile of sliced lemons at my elbow. I use smaller clams for pasta (the smaller size are called littlenecks) and every once in a while I crave a good stuffie. Stuffies are what New Englanders call these fabulous baked clams that are the end result of the recipe below. Heaven.

Ingredients

FOR THE CLAMS
3 T minced garlic
2 T minced parsley
0.25 c minced shallots
3 T olive oil
1 c white wine
36 large cherrystone clams scubbed and cleaned
FOR THE STUFFING
0.25 c olive oil.
1 t paprika
2 T minced garlic.
2 T minced parsley.
1 T fresh thyme
4 T minced bacon
0.25 c fresh clam juice (reserved juices from above work great)
0.5 c fresh bread crumbs, or more as needed
2 T melted butter
2 T lemon juice
0.5 c each minced red pepper, onion, celery

Instructions

FOR THE CLAMS:
Sweat garlic, parsley, and shallots in oil, add wine and, when boiling, add clams. Steam to open in the white wine court bouillon (the cooking liquid you just created). Strain and reserve liquid, then discard top shells of clams and set aside clams in their ‘bottom’ shells.

FOR THE STUFFING:
Place oil in a large pan over high heat and add herbs, spices, seasonings, bacon, and vegetables. Sauté until cooked through and add fresh clam juice. Cook until pan is nearly dry. Toss vegetable mix with breadcrumbs, butter, and lemon juice. Stuff on top of clams and bake/broil until crispy. Serve.