Flos Clams Casino Food

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate. Add the bell pepper, shallots, garlic, and oregano to the same skillet and saute until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and cool completely. Stir the reserved pancetta and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese into the vegetable mixture. Season the mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Arrange the clams in the reserved shells on the baking sheet. Spoon the vegetable mixture atop the clams, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake until the clams are just cooked through and the topping is golden, about 10 minutes.
• Arrange the clams on the platter and serve.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• For the stuffing: Over medium heat, melt butter in a heavy bottom skillet until it starts to foam. Add bacon, shallots, and garlic and cook until bacon is cooked and vegetables are translucent, about 6 minutes. Pour in vermouth and stir, scraping bottom of skillet. Reduce heat to low. Add breadcrumbs, Parmesan and parsley. Cook until mixture comes together, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• For the clams: Preheat broiler. Place clams on a sheet tray and place them on the middle rack in the oven. Broil until all of the clams have opened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven, discard top shells and release clam meats from bottom shells. Add clam "liquor" (juices) to the stuffing.
• Spoon about 1 teaspoon stuffing into each clam shell, covering the clam meats. Place clams back in the oven on the middle rack and broil until stuffing is golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with fresh lemon juice and serve.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain and chop fine. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together the butter, shallots, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne until combined. Set aside.
• Arrange the clams in a single layer in a large skillet pan, cover, and steam over high heat until their shells just begin to open, about 5 to 8 minutes. (Do this in batches if needed.) Set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove the top shells and discard. Slide a knife under each clam to loosen it in the shell.
• Crumple a large piece of aluminum foil and spread it out on a baking sheet. (The creases in the foil help keep the clams from tipping over.) Spread about a 1/4 teaspoon of the seasoned butter on top of each clam, top with some of the bacon, and about 1/2 teaspoon of the crumbs. Evenly space the clams on the prepared baking sheet. (The clams can be prepared to this point, covered, and refrigerated, up to 4 hours before serving.)
• Place a rack about 4 inches from the broiler element and preheat. Broil the clams until the crumbs are toasted and the butter is sizzling, about 3 to 4 minutes. Serve warm.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Soak the clams in cold water to purge any sand, about 20 minutes. Then scrub them clean to remove any dirt or barnacles from the outer shells and then drain.
• Add the white wine and cleaned clams to a large saucepan. Cover and heat over medium. After a few minutes, check to see if any of the clams have opened. Once they start opening, remove the opened clams to a large bowl to cool. Cover the pot and wait another minute or so before checking to see if any more clams have opened. Discard any clams that don't open after 5 minutes. Once all the clams have been removed, turn the heat down to low and let the white wine and clam juice mixture reduce until there is about 1/3 cup of liquid left.
• In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to render its fat and slightly browns, about 2 minutes. Next, add the shallots and bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Use a small fine-mesh sieve to strain the 1/3 cup of white wine-clam juice mixture into the skillet. Stir to combine and cook until the mixture is slightly reduced and cohesive, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to broil.
• Mix the panko, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Carefully remove the top shell from each clam and use a spoon to loosen the meat from the bottom shell. Place the meat back into the bottom shell and then onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Divide the bacon mixture evenly among the clams, using a spoon to pack the mixture tightly into the shell. Top each of the clams with about 1 teaspoon of the panko mixture.
• Transfer the clams to the broiler and cook until the breadcrumbs are just golden brown, 30 seconds to a 1 minute. Keep an eye on them as the browning can happen quite quickly.
• Remove the clams from the oven and use tongs to transfer them to a serving plate. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Saute the peppers, shallots and garlic in a medium saute pan briefly in 2 tablespoons of the butter to soften slightly (1 minute maximum). Season this mixture with salt, cayenne and fresh pepper and remove to a plate to cool off. Blend the butter, the cooled off vegetables, parsley and lemon juice in a bowl. Dab a generous amount of this butter mix on each clam, sprinkle with fresh bread crumbs and top with a small piece of bacon. Run under the broiler to heat the clams and brown the bacon. You could also bake the clams in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes to obtain the same result.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• In a heavy skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until it begins to brown but is not crisp, transfer it with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, and discard the fat from the skillet. In the skillet, wiped clean, cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat until they are softened, add the bell peppers and the orégano, and cook the mixture, stirring, until the bell peppers are crisp-tender. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the bacon, the vinegar, the Parmesan, and salt and black pepper to taste. The bell pepper mixture may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.
• Arrange the clams in the reserved shells in a jelly-roll pan filled with some of the coarse salt (to balance the shells), divide the bell pepper mixture among them, and bake the clams in a preheated 400°F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are just cooked through. Arrange the clams on a platter filled with more of the coarse salt.