Clams Sailor Style
Submitted by cocook
Fresh clams steamed open with eight cloves of garlic, olive oil, white wine, chile pepper, and bread crumbs that thicken the broth into a scoopable sauce. Simple, rustic, and loaded with garlic.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
10 minREADY
20 minThis is sailor food. No frills, no fuss, just clams, an absurd amount of garlic, and a hot pan.
Twenty clams get steamed open in garlicky olive oil with parsley, then white wine, a chopped chile, and bread crumbs go in to build a quick sauce that thickens as you shake the pan back and forth over the heat.
The bread crumbs dissolve into the briny clam liquor and wine, creating a silky, clingy sauce that begs for a chunk of bread to soak it up.
It’s the kind of no-nonsense cooking that fishermen have been eating for centuries, and for good reason.
Kitchen Tips
- Soak the clams in salted water for a full 5 hours before cooking. This is not optional. It purges the sand and grit from inside the shells.
- Eight cloves of garlic is correct. This is not the dish to be shy about garlic.
- Shake the pan instead of stirring with a spoon. The back-and-forth motion emulsifies the sauce and keeps the clams moving.
- Use dry sherry as the wine substitute if you have it. It adds a nutty warmth that works beautifully here.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak clams in salty water for 5 hours before preparing dish, and rinse.
In a large pan, sauté garlic in oil.
Add parsley and clams; cover 5 to 10 minutes to open the clams.
Once clams are open, add bread crumbs, salt, white wine and chile.
Move pan back and forth for about 5 minutes over medium heat until sauce thickens.
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