Category - Clams

Clams are a good cheap and easy to cook source of seafood that goes so well with a lot of dishes. Clams is the name given to a group of bivalve molluscs which includes razor, dog cockles and many more. A common way of cooking them is to steam them. Take a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid that fits well. Bring a few inches of liquid to a rapid simmer – perhaps water, wine, cider or fish stock. Tip the shells into a steamer or colander and expose them to the steam for 2 minutes.  Give them a shake from time to time, until the clam shells have all opened.

It’s also possible to cook fresh ones by immersing them straight in hot liquid, a jus or sauce. When making Linguine with Steamed Clams, the clams are added to the sauce for a couple of minutes at the end so that the heat of the sauce and pan cooks the meat and causes the shells to pop open. There are several famous recipes including New England Chowder and Spanish Shellfish Stew – Zarzuela de Mariscos. You can actually eat them raw as sashimi. Also they can be pickled, smoked and even dried. You always know when they are cooked as their shells open. If the shell hasn’t opened then discard it as it is off.