Clams With Celery And Toasted Garlic Food

GARLIC CLAMS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Add garlic and chile flakes and cook on low until they start to sizzle. Add remaining ingredients.
• Cover pan and cook on low until clams open. Remove from heat and keep covered for use in fat rice. Or serve clams immediately along with the broth, if serving as an appetizer.

CLAMS WITH CELERY AND TOASTED GARLIC

Steps:

• Preferably using a natural bristle kitchen scrubber (a brand new kitchen sponge will work as well), scrub the clams well under running water. After the clams have been scrubbed and scrubbed again, let them hang out in a large bowl of cold water. This will allow any residual sediment or grit to free itself from the shells and settle at the bottom of the bowl while you do everything else.
• Heat oil, butter and chorizo or other pork product, if using, in a large pot (make sure it has a lid) over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot occasionally until the butter has started to brown a little and the fat has begun to render from the pork, 3 to 4 minutes. (The pork won't be crispy, but that's O.K.; you're not looking for that.)
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring a minute or two until it begins to take on a toasty, light golden-brown color. Add wine and cook, letting it simmer until it's a little more than halfway reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Add celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the celery is bright green and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add clams and shake the pot so they settle nicely. Place the lid on the pot and give it the occasional shake, letting them steam open and release their juices, 3 to 5 minutes. (Larger clams will take longer.) The shaking of the pot is not only fun to do, but it gives all the clams quality time with the hottest part of the pot, which will encourage them to open around the same time, although there's always one or two clams late to the party. If there's one that just never makes it to the party (as in, it never opens), it's dead and should be thrown away.
• Toss the parsley, chives and celery leaves in a small bowl, then add lemon or lime zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve the clams with a hunk of crusty fresh bread or thick slices of toast that have been drizzled with lots of olive oil and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic, scattering the parsley mixture over everything.

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS, ROASTED TOMATOES AND CARAMELIZED GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Smash and peel 8 garlic cloves; peel and finely chop the remaining 6. Toss the smashed garlic with the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of oil, fine sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Spread the tomatoes out in a layer in one or two baking pans (make sure they aren't too crowded, so they don't steam) and roast tomatoes, tossing occasionally, until bursting, 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a large pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the pasta until it is 2 minutes from being done to taste. Drain.
• Return the pasta pot to medium-high heat. Warm 4 tablespoons oil in the pot. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and let simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Add the clams. Cover the pot and cook until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes. Use tongs to transfer open clams to a bowl; discard any that do not open.
• Add the pasta and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper to the sauce in the pot. Cook, tossing, until pasta is just cooked through. Return the clams to the pot and toss with the pasta. Divide mixture among serving bowls. Garnish with mint and drizzle with more oil.

SCOTT URE'S CLAMS AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Wash clams to remove any dirt or sand.
• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute, or until tender. Pour in the white wine. Boil until wine has reduced to half its original volume.
• Add clams, cover, and steam till clams start to open. Add butter, cover, and cook till most or all of the clams open. Discard any that do not open. Transfer clams and juice to 2 large bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

BAKED CLAMS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook the clams: Heat a large skillet over high heat. Rinse the clams one final time to make sure they are free of any grit. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet, add the clams and vermouth and cook, shaking the skillet slightly, until the clams open. Remove and cool. Reserve any cooking liquid.
• Make the breadcrumb mix: Place the remaining 10 tablespoons butter in the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, scallions and lemon zest and juice and pulse to blend. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the breadcrumbs.
• Prepare and bake the clams: Detach each clam from its shell and put the meat back in the shell. Mix the reserved cooking liquid from the clams (if any) with the cream. Pour a touch of the cream mixture on top of each clam and immediately mold some of the breadcrumb mixture into each of the shells so the clam body is covered. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until hot, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and preheat the broiler.
• Broil the clams for 1 minute, watching them constantly so they don't burn. Remove them from the oven. Squirt with lemon juice. Top each clam with some parsley. Serve immediately.

LINGUINE WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Place garlic on square of foil and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until tender. Peel garlic and coarsely chop. Heat oil in a large pot and stir in garlic. Add pepper flakes and parsley. Pour in wine and bring to a simmer. Add clams and cover pot. Cook about 8 minutes or until clams are all open. Discard unopened clams. Remove clams from pot and pour off liquid into a bowl, leaving any sand in the bottom of the pot. Rinse the pot and return clams and liquid to the pot. Stir in linguine and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

ROASTED CLAMS WITH HOT SPANISH SAUCE AND SWEET ONION AND GRILLED PEPPER RELISH

Steps:

• For the Clam Broth: Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook until soft. Add the white wine and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup. Add the clam juice and cook until reduced to 3 cups. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Place mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain into a clean bowl.
• For the Grilled Sausages: Preheat grill pan over high heat. Grill sausages until cooked through and golden brown and crusty on outside. Remove, let rest and slice on bias into 1-inch pieces.
• For the Clams and the Broth: Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Add shallots and cook until soft. Add tomato/clam broth and bring to a simmer. Add the clams, cover and let cook until all have opened. Remove clams to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Increase the heat to high and cook the broth for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the butter, salt and pepper and parsley. Place 6 clams and a few pieces of each of the sausage in a bowl. Ladle over the clam broth and top with some of the relish. Serve with French bread.
• For the Sweet Onion and Grilled Pepper Relish: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

MANILA CLAMS IN GARLIC AND BEER

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large stock pot. Gently saute garlic and onions until light golden brown, being careful not to burn them. Place clams in pot and season with salt and pepper. Add fresh basil and pour in beer. Cover pot and bring to boil over medium heat, cooking until clams open. Remove clams to platter or large serving bowl, discarding any that do not open. Pour broth into a serving bowl for dipping with crusty bread.