More Clams

We eat a lot of clams. Whenever I feel like I haven't been very nice to James. Or he does something particularly thoughtful. I generally think I should make clams for dinner. I'm not even sure James likes clams as much as I think he does, but still I present them as a recurring special treat -- and I never like to serve them the same way twice.

Tonight I stared off with diced bacon. The meat crisped in the pan in a little olive oil and rendered out some tasty fat. Next I added in chopped garlic, crushed red chiles, sprigs of thyme, chopped parsley, chopped chervil, one cup of white wine and diced home-grown potatoes. I covered the pan and let the potatoes simmer (maybe a bit more than simmer) for about 5 minutes and then added in the washed clams and a good sized (dare I say it almost a stick) of butter. I turned the heat up to high and let the clams steam, covered, for about another 6 minutes (these were small clams). After the clams were opened I let the sauce boil just a bit longer (I should have done this after removing the clams but with the potatoes and bacon it was just too busy in there) to thicken up.

I served up this latest clam recipe with lots of crusty bread to soak up the deliciously buttery sauce.