I love clams, but I’ve only had them at restaurants. In Newfoundland it’s all about mussels, and pretty much everywhere else that you can get mussels it’s all about mussels. The cheapest ones are pretty similar to mussels but they’re still more expensive, so if you’re just going to steam them you buy mussels instead. but my friend wanted to learn to cook them so I used this as an opportunity to branch out and try all the types of clams available in Montreal (there are 4 – cherrystones, steamers, littlenecks and razors, but we skipped the razors because I had this thought in the back of my head that they weren’t sustainable, and they were very expensive. Turns out the razors are sustainable and the littlenecks and cherrystones have “Some Concerns” according to Seachoice), and see if any were better than others, and especially if any justified purchasing them over Iles-de-la-Madeleine mussels.
Verdict: The CHERRYSTONES! These huge, heart-shaped guys are the Arnold Schwarzenegger of clams. You think they’ll never open, they’re so big, but inside is sweet, meaty flesh more like a scallop than a mussel, thus amazing.
So my friend and I took a recipe for steamed mussels with vermouth, parsley, ginger and garlic, and substituted the Cherrystones, the steamers and the littlenecks.
Tomato-Vermouth Clams, adapted from Becky Selengut’s “Good Fish”
Serves 4
1/2 cup diced shallots
2 tsp olive oil
2 tomatoes, diced (I had a red and a yellow tomato, which is why half the bowl of tomatoes looks yellow in the photo below)
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves chopped roughly and stems chopped finely
1/2 cup dry vermouth
zest of 2 lemons
4-6 lbs steamer or littleneck clams (4 for small appetites, 6 for large), or 6 pounds Cherrystones for a REALLY special occasion (they’re heavier so you need more to get enough meat out of them)
Instructions:
Chop everything in advance and wash the clams like this:
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/o2Od7_XYye0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
It’s video for mussels but it applies to clams to, minus the annoying debearding step.
Sauté the shallots in the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the tomatoes, parsley stems (not the leaves), vermouth, zest, and clams. Stir, cover, and keep cooking over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the clams open. If they’re not open yet, just leave them a few more minutes. Any clams that don’t open can be pried open. they’re not the ones that will make you sick. The ones that don’t close when you’re cleaning them are the ones that’ll make you sick.
Sprinkle with parsley to garnish and serve with crusty bread and a salad. Easy as pie. Easier, actually. More complicated if you soak the clams in salt water for 20 minutes, rinse, and then soak them again to get the dirt out, as I did.
Leftovers…
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