Let me put your minds at ease, right here at the top: No, our kids do not love clams. Theyโre kids, first of all, and clams are kind of freaky. The most I can say, while maintaining journalistic integrity, is that our kids and clams are in the process of learning to coexist. Theyโre getting to know one another. Theyโll eat one or two, at most โ warily, and with some prodding โ before they move on to the safety of chips and guac. But learning to coexist is important, and exposure, as we have argued here before, is half the battle. And, this summer, weโre not having any trouble in the exposure department. This summer, we are all about clams.
At the risk of soundingย predictable, we are sticking to a script these days when it comes to entertaining โ and, more specifically, when it comes to appetizers. There will be no elaborateย cheese platters, no overly-produced dips,ย noย bruschetta. (Okay, maybe some bruschetta.) Whenever we have people over, and even when we donโt, we do up a bowl of littlenecks from The Fish Guy at the farmerโs market, slice a fresh, crusty loaf of bread, set out some napkins and forks, and let that be our appetizer plate. We find that even if the kids wonโt touch the clams, theyโll gladly take a hunk of that bread and dip it into that deep, salty broth. Which, as my parents always used to say, just means more good stuff for us grown-ups. There are endless variations to this dish โ spicy, not spicy; garlicky, not garlicky; wine, no wine; basil, or tarragon โ but itโs easy and fast, it only dirties up one pot, and clams are, on the farmerโs market spectrum, a relative bargain. Plus, thereโs just something festive (and yes, I just used the word festive) about sitting outside with some friends on a summer night, as dinner sizzles on the grill, burning through a bowl of clams and a loaf of bread and tossing the shells โ clank, clank, clank โ back into the bowl. Thatโs living.
Steamed Little Necks
Maybe the best part: thereโs no stress about overcooking or undercooking when it comes to clams; these things literally open their mouths and tell you when theyโre done.
In a Dutch Oven set over medium heat, sauteย 1 choppedย shallot (or spring onion, which we got at our farmerโs market), 1 mincedย garlic clove, a few shakes of red pepper flakes and some freshly ground pepper in olive oil. (The clams provide their own salt, so hold off until the end and decide if it needs more.) When onion is soft, add about a two dozen fresh clams (about six per person), washed and scrubbed, and a 1/4 cupย white or rose wine. Cover and reduce heat to medium low.ย When the clams steam open, about five to ten minutes, add a handful of choppedย tomatoes (any shape or color), some chopped fresh basil,ย and simmer another two or three minutes. Discard any clams that havenโt opened, and pour into serving bowl. Serve with sliced, crusty bread for sopping. And cold wine.
My picky eaters have embraced spaghetti and clams (a close cousin to pasta with butter and cheese)
Nice! I want to be your neighbors!!!
great idea to make this an appetizer! what a festive feast.
Hells yeah!
This sounds sooooo good right now.
Yum Yum and more Yum! Love the idea of finger foods for adults. ๐
I love having this recipe on hand, thank you! I donโt eat clams unless they are hidden in something else (it seems I never grew out of that pickiness) but think this is one of those things I should know how to make!
Great idea for an appetizer and you are right, relatively inexpensive yet has that Fancy App / Ooo la la vibe for guests.
Growing up I loved eating clams and mussels and am trying to get my kids to enjoy them as well. My son loves the โideaโ of them, but after one bite he moves on. He does, however, love shrimp and crab, so I guess I should count my blessings.
I love clams! They always remind me of the Nevada buffets I grew up with. Thanks for sharing how to make them.
I like clams a lot. I will surely try this this week end.
i dog-eared your website as soon as i started reading your post on cup of jo today. and this recipe made me a million times more happy that i did. iโve never made clams before (scared!) but my next shop at the farmers market will definitely include some of the bad boys. i think you even made me drool a little. yum!
Sounds delicious! Thank you for the idea. By the way, weโve got our children to love clams through a cunning idea of my husbandโs. He gives each child (oneโs just seven, the otherโs two) an empty clam shell and lets them use it as a utensil to grip and grab other clams out of their shells. They enjoy this so much, they gobble them all up. Fun is a great motivator!
thanks for this great idea! picked up come clams at wegmans and we slurped them up while we waited for our pizza to cook on the grill! fantastic. keep these ideas coming. ๐
Iโm inspired for dinner this evening, thanks!
THIS IS FANTASTIC! I made it for my parents and they havenโt stopped raving since!
Out of red pepper flakes so I used a little fresh jalapeno. Got raves!
Iโm new to your blog (found you through cup of jo!) but really really am enjoying it for both the recipes and wisdom about motherhood.
We had this as a main course this evening with grilled sourdough bruschetta. What a wonderful recipe. Slurpy good flavor and great for grilled bread dipping. We donโt have to share right???Thank you!!!!
So I did make it when inspired that night for dinner, and we loved it so much, Iโve had to replicate it several times both out east on the weekends with fresh little neck clams from Cor-J, and even while visiting family in California. All this time I thought my husband doesnโt like clams, but itโs only mussels and oysters that he dislikesโฆthanks again!
This sounds sooooo good right now.