How To Make Casino Clams

Notes

How To Make Casino Clams Without

Try to find the Sicilian oregano, dried right on the branch, for this recipe; it makes a difference. Try to get clams on the larger side, and you’ll have plenty of space in the shell for the crispy crumbs.

Recipe from Lidia’s Italy at Home magazine.

Ingredients

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 dozen littleneck clams, shucked on the half shell, juices reserved
½ cup dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon peperoncino
1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Grana Padano
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano, preferably the Sicilian on the branch, crumbled
Kosher salt

Pour clams into the saucepan. Do not add too many clams to the pan at once. If the clams are stacked on top of each other, the weight of the other clams will make it more difficult for the clams on the bottom to open. With this method, you should only cook enough clams to cover the bottom of the pan. 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. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the broiler on high. Arrange the clams on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet. Broil until they open, 5 to 7 minutes, removing each clam with tongs as it opens and transferring it to a clean rimmed baking sheet to cool. Let the oil and garlic steep in a small bowl for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Strain the clam juice through cheesecloth or a very fine sieve into a large rimmed baking sheet (like a half sheet pan). Add the white wine, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the butter and half of the peperoncino. Canned clams are ideal for recipes that call for only the meat of the clams. You can buy them whole or chopped. Be aware that, as with most canned products, canned clams are higher in sodium than fresh. Clam juice, the strained liquid of shicked clams, is often used as a cooking liquid for seafood dishes.

Directions

Let the oil and garlic steep in a small bowl for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Strain the clam juice through cheesecloth or a very fine sieve into a large rimmed baking sheet (like a half sheet pan).

Add the white wine, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the butter and half of the peperoncino.

In a large bowl, toss the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, scallions, 3 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil, the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, the oregano and the remaining peperoncino. Season lightly with salt. Toss until thoroughly blended.

Top each clam with some of the breadcrumb topping packing it down tight. Set the clams in the prepared baking pan and drizzle the remaining infused oil over them, leaving the garlic behind.