Calling all cooks to recommend their recipes for clams, quahogs, periwinkles and mussels. Obliged.
Hi, Dr. P. This recipe suits steamer clams and/or mussels:
Shellfish linguine
(for two people)
30 shellfish
3 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
2 big pinches red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons of Italian parsley, chopped
half a pound of linguine, cooked
If you are using mussels, debeard them by pulling out the fibrous “beard” which grows out of the flat side of the shells. If using clams, let them sit in a tub of cold fresh water for a couple of hours, so that they may expel any oversaltiness and sand. Scrub any shellfish well with a brush and cold water.
In a big pot, saute the garlic in the olive oil for a minute. Add the pepper flakes and the white wine and let the wine come to a boil. Add the shellfish and cover the pot. In about five minutes, start checking periodically to see if the shells have popped open. When they are all or mostly all opened, spoon them out over the cooked linguine together wtih the cooking juices (be careful to spoon up the juice and leave the last bit in the pot to avoid any sand or shell bits). Garnish the dish with the chopped parsley. Serve with a chilled Pinot Grigio and plenty of crusty Italian bread to mop up the winey, garlicky juice.
I say, soak 'em, scrub 'em, boil 'em, cut them into little julienne sticks and toss them with some zucchini and eggplant into the garbage.
Bleeeeech, mussels.
Oooh, I agree with pugluvr.
Steamed mussels, served with lots of garlic butter.
What time is dinner?
I also agree with LifeOnRye. Toss the eggplant and zucchini in the trash. Blech.
Oops. LifeOnWry.
Sorry…I started thinking about steamed mussels and lost my head.
hi doc! long time no read. heres my favorite two.
mouclade: scrub em, beard em, throw a few chopped shallots in a pan with a little butter, cook that for a few, toss in your mussels, deglaze with a decent amount of good white wine, cover em and steam em til just done. remove em, pour in a bit of good heavy cream, bring that to a boil, cook the cream down a bit, season, throw the mussels back in, toss em around gently to coat. toss in some minced parsley. dig in. keep hands and feet away from diners’ mouths.
with tomato and pernod: scrub em and beard em. peel, seed, and dice up some nice ripe tomato. throw a few chopped shallots in a pan with some butter and the tomato, cook that for a few, toss in your mussels, deglaze with some good white wine, not too much, cover and steam til just done.
have some pernod on hand, the pan must be very hot, pour in a quarter cup or so and flame. throw in a good knob of butter and gently toss to coat. dig in. ditto.
have some good baquette on hand to soak it all up.
lemme know how it works out if you try these.
oo! oo! i done forgot steamers mrs sweeney style!!
soak yer steamer clams in salt water with a little cornmeal for a couple hours. this helps to clean em. meanwhile in a big stock pot, have some peeled and quartered potatoes and onions simmering with some yellow beer to just cover. molson redcaps or old vienna or some such, you hoser. also, toss in some lengths of various sausages, kielbasa, linguica, good hot dogs, a few varieties. you prolly dont need salt unless yer a fiend for the stuff.
when the taties are just about cooked, toss in them clams, cover, and steam til done. you dont get yummy broth for dunkin, but you do get an amazing pile of effin TASTY taties and sausage to go along with said bivalves. melt some butter if you want. man, i miss back east some time…
All of the above recipes are excellent. Watch out for any shells that are open before cooking (that do not close when tapped gently), and beware any that do not open during coooking. The mussle begins to die immediately after the “beard” is torn from it, so do that last. Scrub them well with a brush to remove as much sand as possible.
I go for the simplest preparation;
Butter
Garlic
Shallots
White wine
Lots of French bread to soak it all up with
Enjoy!
Oooh Mussels. Truly one of my favs. I used to order steamed oysters when out but one day the restaurant was out of them and suggested mussells. I’ve been hooked ever since.
My favorite is the way that Shells Restaurant prepares them. Here’s how I do them at home. Simple is usually better when it comes to shellfish anyway.
Gently brown some onions (or shallots) in lots of butter and garlic to taste.
Add cleaned and scrubbed and still live mussells
Add 1 stalk celery, and 2 or 3 tomatoes diced.
Cover with white wine and steam until shells open. Discard any that don’t open.
I use the shell to scoop up the juice & mussel and then I sop up any left with French bread and lots of it.
From the archives of my “You Ass Faces That I Used to Work for Fired Me So I’ll Give Your Recipes to Anyone that Asks” files
INGREDIENTS AMOUNT
- OLIVE OIL 1oz
- SALT 1 TSP
- GARLIC 1 TSP
- RED PEPPER FLAKE 1 TSP
- THYME 1 TSP
- ROMA TOMATOES 2 oz
- SWEET PEAS 2 oz
- FETA CHEESE 1 oz
- WHITE WINE 1 oz
- CAPPELINI 10oz
- GREEN LIP MUSSELS 8
SAUTÉ GARLIC, SALT, THYME IN OLIVE OIL, THEN ADD RED PEPPER FLAKE, TOMATOES, PEAS, and MUSSELS. SAUTÉ UNTIL MUSSELS ARE WARMED THOROUGHLY. PLACE MUSSELS IN WARMED BOWL. TOSS PASTA AND CHEESE AND PLATE WITH MUSSELS ON EDGE OF BOWL
enjoy:)
Clean 'em up really well, then chuck 'em in a pot with about an inch of water on the bottom and let 'em steam til they’re open.
Serve them with lemon or garlic butter.
(Excuse me whilst I go vomit now. Just 'cause I know how to cook them doesn’t mean I can stomach them.)
Gotta go with you on this one Ginger. I have yet to have mussles that were transcendent in any way. They always remind me of the repulsively sweet taste some large sea scallops can have.