Dip crusty bread in a savoury clam broth, spiked with garlic and a tiny bit of heat. A quick weeknight dinner that comes together in less than 20 minutes.
Time: 2/5
Didn’t even have to cook pasta.
Effort: 2/5
Arguably, the shopping was harder than the cooking!
She sells sea shells
Most of my diet is based on meal prep recipes centered around rice, like Japanese Gyudon, Gochujang Hot Honey Chicken, or Miso Glazed Salmon. In my household, Western food tends to get reserved for special occasions. It’s always something like a stunning lobster date night pasta, make ahead lamb shanks, or low carb pork chops with roasted cabbage.
But that’s an undeserved reputation. I’m convinced that Western food can be everyday food too, so here I am with a certified easy weeknight dinner. Seafood tends to cook quickly, and bread needs much less time to prepare than rice. This meal might not be a looker, but it’s certainly fit for purpose.
One shortcut I did make was to use frozen pre-cooked clams, and it’s a decision I kind of regret. It might be quick and easy, but the flavour really suffered as a result. Then again, the fish market is often closed by the time I get back from work. So if the choice is between frozen clams and no clams, I would pick frozen clams every time.
Posts since the last recipe that was actually served with rice: 1
Dramatis Personae
Served two.
- 500g clams
- 4 pieces of bread
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200ml stock
- 100ml white wine
- 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
- A few cloves of garlic
- A few shallots
- 1 tbsp butter
- Dried chili flakes, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
Executive summary
- Lightly toast the bread. Peel and cut the aromatics into thin pieces.
- Sweat aromatics in olive oil until fragrant, then add herbs, white wine and stock.
- Bring to a simmer, add clams, then cover the pan with a lid to steam them until they open.
- Switch off the heat and stir in butter. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Assemble and serve immediately.
Play by Play
Last things first. Some nice crusty bread goes into a low oven to toast. Mine doesn’t go any lower than 100C, and it only takes 2-3 minutes. Because I am leaving the bread in the oven (for lack of space in the kitchen), I am deliberately under-toasting them to allow for the carry-over heat. This way, I can also quickly warm the toast up before I serve, without the bread turning into a dry brick.
This concludes the knife work for this recipe! Aromatics sliced thin for greater surface area, but not diced so fine that it burns easily.
Sweat the aromatics, wine and stock in, clams in, cover to steam. Only salt after you add the stock, because stock often comes pre-salted.
Couple minutes, and we’re done! I’m stirring in a pat of butter once the heat is off, but to be honest I can’t tell the difference in the end product.
Plate up, garnish, and just like that, dinner is ready!
Clams are finger food, so treat them that way. The shells are perfect for scooping up the broth!
Keep browsing by categories, or by tags:
Beef Blog Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cast iron Cheese Chicken Dashi Date Night Dried scallops Dried shrimp Eggs Fish and seafood Garlic Ginger Glass noodles Gochujang Honey Lettuce Miso Napa cabbage Old Bay Onion Oven Pasta Peppers Pork Potatoes Salmon Sesame oil Shiitake mushrooms Shrimp Soup Sous Vide Spicy Steaming Stewing Stir fry String beans Sweet potatoes Teriyaki Tomatoes Yogurt Zucchini