Thursday, September 30, 2010

I Am A Clam Genius

Okay, it's not nice to brag, but this might be the best clam dinner I have ever made.
While I wandered through the grocery store I spied a package of smoked linguica sausage. Suddenly I was thinking cataplana, the Portuguese dish of pork or sausage and clams -- manilla clams, a house favorite.
I heated some olive oil and browned slices of the sausage in the pan. I removed the sausage and added in a chopped onion and cooked for about 5 minutes. Next I added in 1 tsp of smoked paprika (picante) and 3 cloves of minced garlic. I stirred that for just a bit and added 2 TBs of tomato paste, 1/4 cup of clam juice, 3/4 cup of white wine, a hefty pinch of red pepper flakes, a handful of chopped parsley, 2 bay leaves, a couple slices of chopped prosciutto for some extra porky flavor and about 2 TB of butter. I brought that all up to a boil, poured in almost 3 lbs of tiny Manilla clams, covered the pot and steamed for about 6 minutes until all the clams had opened. I served the clams with slices of bread toasted with shallot butter and parsley to soak up the super delicious, spicy sauce.
Modesty be damned. I can't deny it. I am a clam genius.

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