Chocolate Clams And Salsa Recipes

SCOTT URE'S CLAMS AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Wash clams to remove any dirt or sand.
• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute, or until tender. Pour in the white wine. Boil until wine has reduced to half its original volume.
• Add clams, cover, and steam till clams start to open. Add butter, cover, and cook till most or all of the clams open. Discard any that do not open. Transfer clams and juice to 2 large bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

HAKE WITH CLAMS IN SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Place clams in a bowl, cover with cold water and set aside. If using fish trimmings, rinse them with cold water, place in a 3-quart saucepan, add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and discard the solids. You should have at least 1 cup fish stock, preferably more. Set aside.
• Drain clams and scrub them. Rinse fish fillets and pat dry. Season with salt on the skinless side.
• Heat oil in a large sauté pan or stovetop casserole. Add garlic and cook on medium-high until garlic barely starts to color. Add flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add wine, cook 30 seconds and add fish stock. Lower heat and simmer about a minute.
• Add fish to the pan, skin side up. Simmer gently about 3 minutes. Turn fillets over, add clams, placing them around the fillets. Cook about 5 minutes, or until clams open. If the liquid appears to be drying up, add some additional fish stock or water. When the clams open, scatter parsley around the pan.
• Remove pan from heat and move it in a circular motion a minute or two to swirl the sauce so it begins to emulsify and look smooth. Add more salt if needed. Serve directly from the pan or divide among individual shallow soup bowls.

STEAMED CLAMS WITH SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• In a large blender place the red onion, jalapenos, and lime juice start to puree by pulsing the mixture for 30 seconds to a 1 minute.
• With the blender running, start adding the parsley and cilantro in handful bunches, slowly so as not to crowd the blender. When the whole mixture is smooth, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Heat a large saute pan on high with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, when the oil begins to smoke add the sliced garlic and cook for approximately 30 seconds until the garlic slices are brown but not burned. Add the clams and cook for 2 minutes.
• Deglaze the pan with the white wine and clam juice, cover the pan and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove the lid and add the pureed salsa verde mixture stirring constantly in order to combine the clams, their cooking liquid, and the salsa verde thoroughly. Cook for 3 more minutes, season with salt and pepper and serve with grilled bread points.

CHOCOLATE CLAMS AND SALSA

Steps:

• For the dressing: Put the mayonnaise, mustard, cilantro, onions and jalapeno in the recipient of a blender and pulse until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the salsa: In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, chile, onions, lime zest and juice, cilantro and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. If you like things spicier, put everything through a meat grinder, or a blender, and grind it up. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• For the refried beans: Heat the lard in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and chipotle pepper and continue sauteing for 1 minute.
• Add a ladle of cooked beans and, using a masher, start mashing the beans. Once the first spoonful of beans has been mashed completely, keep adding more beans and repeating the process. The unique taste of refried beans occurs as a result of slowly frying the starches inside the beans in the lard, so you want to add the beans a little bit at a time, to make sure they all get good and fried.
• Once all the beans have been mashed, add a little bean liquid or water, until you get the texture that you want. Keep it a bit looser than you eventually want, as they will continue to firm up as they cool off the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• For the clams: Scrub them under cool running water. Discard any gaping clams that don't close when cleaned.
• Set the clams on a BBQ grill over a solid bed of hot coals or over high heat on a gas grill. Close the lid on the gas grill. Cook the clams until they pop open, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Serve with a spoonful of the dressing, the salsa and refried beans. Garnish with lime wedges.

GRILLED CLAMS WITH BASIL-BACON SALSA

Steps:

• Cook 5 bacon slices in medium skillet over medium heat until almost crisp, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels. Repeat with remaining 5 bacon slices. Chop bacon.
• Mix salsa and basil in medium bowl.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Cover bottom of 2 platters with 1/4-inch-thick layer of rock salt. Arrange clams directly on barbecue rack. Cover and grill until clams open, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Remove clams from rack.
• Using pot holders to protect hands, twist off and discard top shells of clams. Arrange clams, shell side down, atop salt on platters. Spoon salsa atop clams. Sprinkle with reserved bacon and serve.

CLAMS WITH GREEN SAUCE (SALSA VERDE)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and clams, then cook while stirring about 30 seconds until shells open. Add green onions and 1/2 cup of wine. Add clam juice and pepper flakes.
• Blend cornstarch with the remaining tablespoon of wine and stir into clams and sauce, stirring until thickened. Add a little salt, then sprinkle with parsley and stir.

MEXICAN CLAM DIP

Steps:

• Beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Mix in salsa, chilies and cilantro. Add clams and blend well. Season dip to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to ovenproof dish. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake dip uncovered until heated through and bubbling around edges, about 35 minutes.
• Place bowl of dip on platter. Surround with chips and serve.

PALOURDES EN SALSA VERDE (CLAMS IN GREEN SAUCE)

Steps:

• Rinse clams individually in cold water to remove all sand. Drain.
• Put oil and garlic in a large casserole or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. When hot, add the clams and one-half cup of wine. Cover closely and cook about five minutes, shaking skillet to redistribute the clams.
• When the clams have started to open, add the pepper flakes, scallions and parsley. Cover and cook briefly until all the clams have opened.
• Blend the cornstarch with the two remaining tablespoons of wine and stir it into the sauce.
• Meanwhile, put the frozen peas into a small sieve. Run under very hot water about 15 seconds, just until the peas separate. Add the peas to the clams, heat and serve.

CHOCOLATE CLAMS AND SALSA

Steps:

• For the dressing:.
• Put the mayonnaise, mustard, cilantro, onions and jalapeno in the recipient of a blender and pulse until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the salsa:.
• In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, chile, onions, lime zest and juice, cilantro and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. If you like things spicier, put everything through a meat grinder, or a blender, and grind it up. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• For the refried beans:.
• Heat the lard in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and chipotle pepper and continue sauteing for 1 minute.
• Add a ladle of cooked beans and, using a masher, start mashing the beans. Once the first spoonful of beans has been mashed completely, keep adding more beans and repeating the process. The unique taste of refried beans occurs as a result of slowly frying the starches inside the beans in the lard, so you want to add the beans a little bit at a time, to make sure they all get good and fried.
• Once all the beans have been mashed, add a little bean liquid or water, until you get the texture that you want. Keep it a bit looser than you eventually want, as they will continue to firm up as they cool off the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• For the clams:.
• Scrub them under cool running water. Discard any gaping clams that don't close when cleaned.
• Set the clams on a BBQ grill over a solid bed of hot coals or over high heat on a gas grill. Close the lid on the gas grill. Cook the clams until they pop open, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Serve with a spoonful of the dressing, the salsa and refried beans. Garnish with lime wedges.
• Cook's Note:.
• The Mexican chocolate clam, so-called for its brown-colored shell, is the largest West Coast bivalve. Reaching up to 6 inches across, the clams are very popular all along the coast of Central America. If Mexican chocolate clams are unavailable at your local store, you can use any other high-quality clams (still in their shells).