Tomato Ginger Gelée Clam Shooters Recipes

LITTLENECK CLAMS WITH TAMARIND-TOMATO BROTH, SCALLION, GINGER AND CELLOPHANE NOODLES

Steps:

• In a pot, combine all the tamarind, palm sugar, lemongrass and 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Mash the mixture with a potato masher. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth while pressing with the back of a wooden spoon. (This can be done 4 to 5 days in advance.) Keep refrigerated until needed.
• Purge the clams: In a bowl, combine the clams, cornmeal, and 4 cups of cold water. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 to 40 minutes, to clean out any sand. Remove the clams from the water and discard the water.
• Pass the tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds (they can be bitter), so that only the juice remains. Set aside.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the cellophane noodles for 4 to 6 minutes, or until done. Strain and put 1/2 cup each of the noodles in 4 wide soup bowls.
• In a wok fitted with a steamer rack (or circular cake rack), bring the tamarind stock, ginger juice, and tomato juice to a boil. Place the clams on the rack, cover, and cook until they open and release their juice into the broth. Divide the clams among the soup bowls, leaving the broth in the wok.
• Stir the sweet soy sauce, minced chile, and basil into the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the fish sauce. Ladle the broth over the clams and garnish with scallions and lemon zest. Serve immediately.

TOMATO GINGER GELéE CLAM SHOOTERS

Steps:

• Purée one fourth of tomatoes with ginger in a food processor until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small heavy saucepan and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
• Clean processor thoroughly, then purée remaining tomatoes in batches with chiles, salt, and sugar until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cooked tomato ginger purée.
• Line a large sieve with stacked cheesecloth squares and set over a deep nonreactive pot or a large clean bucket. Carefully pour purée into center of cheesecloth. Gather sides of cheesecloth up over purée to form a large sack and tie sides together securely with string as close to purée as possible but without squeezing purée. Tie sack to a wooden spoon longer than diameter of pot and remove sieve. Set spoon across top of pot, suspending sack inside pot and leaving a couple of inches underneath sack so that it will not sit in any tomato water that accumulates. (Alternatively, transfer tomato water to another container as it accumulates.) Let sack hang 4 hours at room temperature.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a 7- to 8-quart heavy pot. Add clams and cook, covered, over moderately high heat, until clams are opened wide, stirring and checking frequently after 6 minutes and transferring clams as opened to a bowl. (Discard any clams that have not opened after 10 minutes.) When cool enough to handle, shuck clams.
• Discard cheesecloth sack and its contents without squeezing. Pour tomato water through large sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into a bowl. Measure out 4 cups tomato water and reserve remainder for another use.
• Transfer 1/2 cup tomato water to a small saucepan, then sprinkle with gelatin and let soften 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is dissolved, then stir into remaining 31/2 cups tomato water.
• Arrange glasses on trays and put 1 or 2 cilantro leaves in each, then a clam, and then 1 or 2 more cilantro leaves. Add about 1 tablespoon tomato water to each glass (stir water each time so gelatin remains well distributed) and chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap, at least 3 hours. (Gelatin will be thickened but not set; it needs to slide easily out of glass.)

STEAMED CLAMS IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Rinse the clams in several changes of water and scrub with a small brush, such as a toothbrush. Discard any that are open or that have cracked shells.
• Place the wine in a large, lidded pan that will accommodate all of the clams (a wok with a lid works well). Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the clams, cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pan from time to time, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the clams open. Remove from the heat. Discard any clams that have not opened.
• Set a strainer over a bowl, line with cheesecloth and drain the clams. Set the liquid and the clams aside in separate bowls. You can keep the clams in the shell or remove them, whichever is most convenient for serving (it's prettiest with the clams in the shell).
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, wide, lidded skillet or casserole and add the shallots. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 3 minutes, and add the garlic and red pepper flakes or chile de arbol. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute, and add the tomatoes and juice, the sugar, orange zest, thyme, saffron, and the liquid from the clams. Add salt and pepper to taste, bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce the heat and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture has cooked down and is very fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Stir the clams into the tomato sauce and heat through, stirring. Add the parsley or cilantro, stir again, and serve in wide soup bowls. Drizzle a little olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice over each serving if you wish

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS, ROASTED TOMATOES AND CARAMELIZED GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Smash and peel 8 garlic cloves; peel and finely chop the remaining 6. Toss the smashed garlic with the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of oil, fine sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Spread the tomatoes out in a layer in one or two baking pans (make sure they aren't too crowded, so they don't steam) and roast tomatoes, tossing occasionally, until bursting, 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a large pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the pasta until it is 2 minutes from being done to taste. Drain.
• Return the pasta pot to medium-high heat. Warm 4 tablespoons oil in the pot. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and let simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Add the clams. Cover the pot and cook until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes. Use tongs to transfer open clams to a bowl; discard any that do not open.
• Add the pasta and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper to the sauce in the pot. Cook, tossing, until pasta is just cooked through. Return the clams to the pot and toss with the pasta. Divide mixture among serving bowls. Garnish with mint and drizzle with more oil.