BURNT CLAMS

BURNT CLAMS©

INDEX:

INTRODUCTION

Anchovies – stuffed with clam sauce

Appetizer – “almejas a la marinera”– clams tapas

Appetizer – casso pipa - alla ciosota
(Veneto region)

Appetizer - bread slices - small – with clam

Appetizer - “gugliese” style

BURNT CLAMS©

When I was a kid my mother used to take me to the beach to look for seashells. I used drive her up a wall since I collected them by the bagful … tons … of clamshells.

Those small brownish shells which some fashion designers used to make necklaces, earrings and adorn bags and clothes with. I was thinking of opening a store myself with all that junk I was collecting. Those days came to an end and I had to get rid of the whole ‘dream shop’… my mother went to church for days thanking the Lord and she wasn’t a church nut at all!! Of course I don’t collect them anymore... in way. I eat them!! That’s another enjoyable way of saving them. It became one of my favorite dishes especially since I now live in a Mediterranean country: Italy.

They sure know how to cook them here!! In any way and style you can possibly think of. Any kind of pasta, soups and even pizzas.. they have it all! I was writing down the various recipes I gathered here and there and sketching some comics around them then I though: ’What if I publish them? Why not?’ I know that the cook books are full of clam recipes but maybe they are missing a couple… who knows! So I made up my mind and made this booklet a little different from the ordinary by adding comics which I named: “Burnt Clams” (Why this title, don’t ask, I haven’t got the faintest idea myself! It just came up that way one night when I was half a sleep!) I added some other gadgets and… whatever. Hope you enjoy the whole “bundle caboodle” and, above all, the recipes.

_______________________

Some things you should know:

Liquids:

1 lt (litre) = 2.113 pint

Weights:

10 gr (grams) = 0.3527 oz
1 kg (kilo) = 2.2046 lb

Temperatures:

1 Cº Celsius = 33.8 Fº
10 Cº Celsius = 50 Fº
100 Cº Celsius = 212 Fº

________________________________________________________

HOW TO CLEAN MOLLUSKS

(Mussels, clams, oysters etc.):

Place the fresh mollusks into a container full of salt water and let them sit for several hours (better if sea water but you may use non-iodized salt: 1 kg for 10 lt of regular water) thoroughly wash them changing water once in a while. If there is still any sand left you have to wash them once more in warm water. You may leave them in the refrigerator overnight. To open mussels and clams cook them, in a covered frying pan, with a little extra virgin olive, oil browning a piece or two of garlic to add flavor. Jump them, for two or three minutes, so the heat will spread evenly and the mollusks will open. Remove the pan from the flame and, helping yourself with a spoon, shell them one by one and place them in a bowl. You can save the empty shells as decoration. There will be some broth left over: you may to use that for cooking; wait a while until the sand deposits on the bottom, then pour while filtering with a strainer, directly onto the mollusks.

All mollusks should be cooked gently in order to prevent toughening.

________________________________________________________________

The main types of pasta mostly used are, of course, spaghetti. They can be thin (capellini) or thick (vermicelli), flat (bavette) or hollow (bucatini). Short like maccheroni and penne and… you name it… there are by the thousands!! Then we have the home made pasta. Its excellent, genuine and represents the top of the line but it takes time to prepare.

A hint:

consider that when you remove the pan from the flame, the pasta keeps on cooking for another little while. If necessary to avoid over-cooking simply run the drained pasta under cold tap water. This will stop the cooking process instantly.

You will also be using a generous amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and parsley. These are the essentials for most of your clams dishes.

___________________________________________________

KITCHEN tools:

CLAY POTS:

Hard to find in North America! They come in different sizes but all have the same basic shape.

They seems to make cooking more natural and tastier.

When bought new they have to undergo a special kind of “ritual”.
The bottom has to be smeared with garlic so it creates a kind of film. The pot itself has to be filled with water for, at least, 24 hours before it can be used.

Don’t ask me why!!

FLAME BREAKER NET:

I made up the English word. Another gadget hard to find in North America; I never saw one myself. The ones my mother had, were jealously brought from Italy along with the clay pans and the wooden items. This contraption its used to protect clay pans from direct flame allowing the heat to spread evenly and thus prevents cracking the clay pot.

WOODEN TOOLS:

Wooden spoons and forks are widely used. They are rustic and have a natural look and, probably, add a more natural flavor to the food. A positive thing is that, if you forget one at home or break one, you can carve a new one right on the spot or replace it with a wooden stick.

FEW BASIC TOOLS:
(A) wooden cutting board

(B) garlic mincer (it actually grind the garlic
clove)

(C) fork and wooden spoons

(D) fish scissors

(E) half moon blade used to mince parsley, garlic, etc.

___________________________________________________

Buying clams should be done knowing that:

They are sold as: fresh, shelled, frozen or canned (glass jar or tin can). Make sure the fresh ones are still alive (this goes for the hard shell clams). The shell its not broken and its tightly shut.

If it’s seems to be a little bit open, all you have to do is jut tap on it slightly and see if it snaps shut.

If it doesn’t discard it immediately since the clam “croaked”.

For soft shell clams, you have to touch their neck (a long rubbery tube or siphon).

If they move, they’re alive (Mr. Spock’s steel Vulcan logic!).

________________________________________________________________

Storing clams-They can be found (store or market) in a net like package. If shelled, they’ll last for a couple of days stored in the refrigerator. They can also be placed in a pan covered by a wet towel or in a porous bag.

A bad idea would be to freeze them, or drown them in water, since they’ll suffocate. If really fresh you can keep them a few days in the refrigerator. As previously said do not us: open, broken or cracked clams. Also discard the ones which don’t float… they already “croaked”!

One more thing about soft shell clams: DO NOT EAT THEM RAW!! They have a high amount of toxins which may cause: diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach pains and may, above all, cause DEATH! Alcoholic beverages accelerate toxin absorption… so be VERY careful about drinking!!

_________________________________________________________

(poaching liquid for fish)

Its a broth obtained from the fish left overs, mainly heads and bones, after the main part has been prepared for cooking. This broth has to be very thin and cooked with white wine. Try this:

· 50 gr of onion

· a wisp of parsley

· thyme

· ¼ of a laurel leaf

· 3 drops of lemon juice

· ¼ of a teaspoon of salt

· 600 ml of water

· 125 ml of white dry wine

Place in the pan all the aromatic ingredients and cover them with the fish heads and bones.

Add salt and cover them with water, whine and lemon drops.

Boil for 30 minutes circa. Let it cool off and filter with a strainer.

__________________________________________________________

Anchovies - stuffed with

calms sauce

For Four:

· 400 gr of clams

· 6 sandwich bread

slices

· 2 anchovies fillets

(in olive oil)

· 1 tomato

· 1 onion

· field balm

· white dry wine

· frying oil (I would

personally suggest virgin olive

oil for a genuine flavor)

· thyme

· 1 small lettuce

· capers (under salt)

· Tabasco sauce

· 2 eggs

· basil

· garlic

· flour

· salt

· 24 anchovies

Clean the clams as usual then place them in a frying pan with a twig of thyme, a piece of garlic and adding a half a glass of wine allowing clams to open.

Shell them and save the broth.

Mince the onion, some field-balm’s leaves, the drained anchovies fillets, one tablespoon of capers (washed of their salt) and the sandwich bread. Add a pinch of salt (watch it!!... capers and anchovies are already salted) and spice with a few drops of Tabasco sauce.

Clean the anchovies of their insides and open them (just like a book). Place the stuffing on top of twelve anchovies, then cover them with the remaining twelve. Flour them and turn them in the beaten eggs with minced basil. Fry, and let them dry. Brown some sliced garlic in oil, then, when ready, add the clams broth you have filtered.

After its halfway evaporated, add the shelled clams and cook for a few minutes. Join with some basil leaf and the stuffed anchovies, turning them once in a while to flavor them. Place them in plates and garnish them with some lettuce leaf and diced tomato. That’s it!

ALMEJAS A LA MARINERA

(CLAMS TAPAS)

For Four:

· 500 gr of clams

· 1 teaspoon of flower

· white wine

· salt

· parsley

· extra virgin olive oil

· 1 hot pepper

· 1 small sachet of saffron

· 1 onion

· 1 piece of garlic

Clean the clams the usual way and let them open in a frying pan with water and salt. Drain the clams and save the broth after you pass it with a strainer. Dissolve the saffron in the broth then, in a clay pot (use another kind if that particular kind of pot is not available), brown some minced garlic, onion and hot pepper adding the flour, the clams broth and some wine. Stir well, until it turns into a sauce, adding clams and parsley. Serve!

Appetiser - Casso pipa

alla ciosota

(veneto region)

For Four:

· 1 Kg of clams

· white dry wine

· 30 gr of parsley

· pepper

· extra virgin olive oil

· 1 onion

Wash the clams as usual. Mince the onion and let it wither in a clay pan (same problem!) with some oil adding clams and wine, mixing thoroughly the whole “bundle caboodle”, cover with a lid and allow to cook until the

clams open. Mix, once in a while, using possibly, a wooden spoon (p. 17), not exceeding ten minutes. When the clams are open, remove the lid and allow the broth to evaporate a little then sprinkle the minced parsley, add pepper an

d mix well. Serve with some crisp bread slices. Bon Apetit!

_________________________________________________________

Let me say a few words about our high valued “clam friend”.

This bivalve mollusk can be found in the sea shallow water and its more tastier compared to its fresh water sisters.

In the over 2000 species of clams existing, the most popular an

d most widely used ones, are the “mecenaria-mecenaria”, (hard shell) and the “mya arenaria” (soft shell).

You don’t have to chew them, of course, but their shell contain a high percentage of calcium, proteins and iron.

Its known that the Romans used to mince shells and use to blend the powder with sand and water obtaining a kind of cement widely used in constructions, even studied by the U.S. Army engineers after the WWII (why does ancient Rome still stands?).

Still one of the wonders of our times!

___________________________________________________________________

Appetizer: Bread slices

(small) - with clams

For Four:

· 8 slices of Italian or
sandwich bread

· extra virgin olive oil

· 300 gr tomatoes pulp

· 1 kg of clams

· parsley and salt

· 3 pieces of garlic

Prepare clams and shell them.
Brown the garlic in a few drops of oil adding tomatoes and clams.
A pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes.
Cut the crusts from the bread placing it in an oiled pan.

Add the clams sauce on the slices, dust with parsley and place in the oven, at 180°C for ten minutes.
Serve and enjoy!!

Appetizer: "gugliese"

style clams

For Six:

· 200 gr of clams

· 3 kg of large shrimps

· 1 wisp of parsley

· 1 kg of squids

· 300 gr of sole fish

· juice of two lemons

· capers, parsley and some garlic

· salt

· a few drops of wine vinegar

·1 glass of extra virgin olive oil

·tuna fish

·anchovies

Wash the large shrimps and, separately, the squids, clams and soles adding oil and lemon.
Blend the herbs and the other ingredients with oil adding salt and vinegar. So simple!

This is a little "taste" of my 178 pages comic/cook booklet. The original differs in the graphic settings. It was already hard enough to post it on this Blog! Thanks for viewing!!

Michael