Clams and Mussels in Garlic Wine Sauce

This is a simple preparation that in only infrequently cooked in homes. Demonstrating just how easy it is to achieve restaurant quality at home with minimal effort will encourage others to try it. I let my “student” do all the steps. This is more memorable than if you do it.

3 Pounds live clams (or 50-50 Clams and Mussels), washed & cleaned

3 Tablespoons sweet butter and 2 Tablespoons good olive oil

1 Cup white wine (Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc)

3 Garlic cloves, minced

¾ Cup minced shallots

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 Cup Italian parsley, finely chopped

Start by rinsing the clams in water. If you also using mussels, clean these and remove any beards with a sharp pairing knife. Discard those that are open (dead) or broken shells. Then let clams stand covered in a bowl water for two hours to which you add a tablespoon of corn meal. Do not touch the bowl or the clams will “clam up”. You want them to open and drop any excess sand they might have, and additionally, they may be full of salt water which otherwise will make the dish too salty. Do not skip this step. After two hours, rinse with cold water twice.

Preheat the oven to 170 F and put your serving platter in it.

Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot with plenty of surface area².  Add and heat the oil, when smoking add the clams and half the parsley. Season generously with pepper (Use some red pepper too, if it pleases you.) Flip,  then cover, and cook until all the shells steam open. (Discard any that stay closed.) Remove the clams with a slotted spoon to a heated serving platter. Stick in warm oven to stay warm. Filter the broth through a very fine strainer (need to be able to filter sand) and pour the strained liquid back into the pot. Add the wine, garlic, shallots and reduce liquid on high to concentrate the flavor. Remove from heat, add remaining parsley, the shellfish and swirl in the butter. Taste and correct seasoning.

If serving a pasta (spaghetti or linguini), cook a pound of it "al dente" then toss the clams and pasta in a serving bowl.

Notes:

1.     Farmed mussels and clams generally do not contain sand but it does not hurt to soak in cold water. Additionally, since these are raised in salt water, their opening will rid some of the undesirable salt.

2.     I use a 14-inch cast-iron skillet with three-inch lip. Its thickness allows a lot of heat to be stored in a preheated pan allowing the chef to flash cook a large bunch of cold clams/mussels quickly so they remain tender.

3.     The smaller the mussels and clams, the sweeter and the tenderer these will be. So if you have the chance to pick these out of the pile, cull the small ones.

Manila Clams with Black Bean Sauce

Manila clams are the sweetest and probably the smallest hard-shell clams you will find in the market, making them the favorite of many professional chefs. Manila clams need only about 3-5 minutes to steam open.

Manila clams are widely farmed in the Pacific Northwest, mostly in Washington State and British Columbia. Unlike some kinds of fish farming, clam farming poses little threat to the environment because these tasty bivalves are hatched in pens and then live their lives in the wild.

From a cooking standpoint, most Manila clams are steamed. You can certainly eat them on the half shell, but few people do for no real reason: They taste every bit as sweet as the Eastern quahogs we eat on the half shell, although Manila clams will be less salty.

Manilas are classically used in pasta and soups. If you want to mix them with other seafood, they go well with crab.

Any clams that do not open their shells while cooking  are suspect and should be tossed.

This recipe is Cantonese and is wonderful served with steamed jasmine rice on Chinese New Year.

The province of Canton, now officially known as Guangdong, is renowned for its super-fresh, subtly prepared food.

"It's the finest cuisine in China," says New Jersey-based Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, a Chinese cooking authority and author who has been dubbed the Cantonese Julia Child.

2 pounds manila clams, soaked with a tablespoon corn meal, the rinsed twice, scrubbed and rinsed again

2 Tablespoons fermented black beans, soaked in water, drained, mashed

2 Large cloves garlic, crushed, minced

1 Tablespoon peeled, minced ginger

2 Teaspoons black soy sauce

¼ Cup Shaohsing wine

1 Cup Bar Harbor or another good clam juice

3 shallots, chopped finely

1 Teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 Tablespoon oyster sauce

2 Tablespoon corn starch

1 Teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper

2 scallion greens, cut diagonally as garnish

Peanut oil

Soak clams in cold water to which has been added a bit of corn meal. The corn meal will cause the clams to open thereby shedding the salt water. Allow to rest un-disturbed so clams open, about ¾ hour. Under cold running water, scrub the outside of the clams with a stiff brush, then rinse twice.

Dissolve cornstarch in  1 tablespoon cold water and retain. Add oil to hot wok or large pre-heated hot cast-iron pan. Add drained clams, and toss with a spoon/chun. Add ginger, and shallots. Toss until clams open. 

Add black beans, Shaohsing wine, soy sauce, oyster suace, red pepper, sugar, garlic, rice vinegar. Stir fry a minute or two. Add clam juice, and  disolved constarch mixture. Stir and heat until the suace thickens. Taste and then correct seasonings, adding white pepper if needed. Garnish with scallions greens then plate.

Tender Tagliatelle, Edamame, Sorrel, Mint, with Buttery Aged Havarti

Nuttiness of aged havarti cheese pairs perfectly with crunchy edamame, lemony sorrel, mint topping freshly made wide hand-cut Italian noodles. Thin slices of red apple give a pleasant under tone of sweetness and visual appeal.

 

Tagliatelle hand-cut noodles made with Durham hard-winter-wheat

Shelled Edamame

Fresh Sorrel leaves

Fresh Mint leaves

Aged Havarti cheese, coarsely graded

Sweet European butter

Sea salt

Thinly Sliced red apple

Pinch of sugar

Red wine vinegar

Pine nuts

White pepper

 

Acidulate a cup of water, add a little salt and sugar to taste. Core and thinly slice apples lengthwise, store in the sweet acidulated water. 

Shelled Edamame and blanch in boiling water for one minute. Plunge in ice water to stop cooking, drain and pat dry. Chop mint and sorrel in a chiffonade. 

Boil a pound of fresh Tagliatelle noodles in salted water. Cook 2+ minutes until al dente. Drain most of the water, tossing pasta with ¼ pound of cold butter cut into patties for three minutes. Add white pepper and sea salt to correct seasoning. Add chiffonade, Edamame, Havarti cheese, pine nuts. Drain apple slices well. Toss noodles and serve.

 

Optional Items

Grated Romano or parmesan cheese for additional flavor

Italian Capers

Flecks of soaked softened sun dried tomatoes