Vongole Mediterranio Baked Clams Rice With Saff Recipes

CLAMS WITH OREGANO AND BREAD CRUMBS (VONGOLE ORIGANATE)

Steps:

• Carefully open the clams, discarding the top shells, and drain the clam liquid into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Loosen the clams from the bottom shells but do not remove them. Pour the salt onto a baking sheet so that it is at least 1/2-inch deep and arrange the clams in their half-shells in the salt.
• In a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat until smoking. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook 6 to 7 minutes, until softened and light golden brown. Add the bread crumbs and continue cooking another 3 minutes, until they are light golden brown as well. Remove the mixture from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and cool. Stir in the oregano and the reserved clam liquid.
• Preheat the broiler. Pack about 2 teaspoons of the crumb mixture loosely into each clam shell. (Remember that the clam, not the stuffing, is the most important part of this dish; stuffing should surround and enhance the clam, not overpower it.)
• Place the clams under the broiler and heat through, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, just until the crumb mixture is deep golden brown; you're not really cooking the clam. Drizzle with a drop of olive oil, and serve.

VONGOLE MEDITERRANIO (BAKED CLAMS & RICE WITH SAFFRON)

Steps:

• Place clams in a pot with wine and garlic, cover and steam the clams for 5 - 6 minutes (until they open).
• Please, discard any clams that do not open -- they are bad.
• Drain the pot, reserving the liquid and remove the clam meat from the shells. Leave some clams in the shell for garnishing.
• Set the clams aside.
• Strain the clam liquid in a sieve that has been lined with cheese cloth, linen or a muslin cloth and reserve the clam liquid.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Saute the onion in butter in an ovenproof casserole for 2 - 3 minutes.
• Add the rice and saffron to the casserole dish and gently stir to coat with butter.
• Next add the chicken stock and clam liquid to the dish and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, reduce the heat and cover the dish.
• Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the casserole dish from the oven and uncover, add the clams and butter to the dish, gently mixing together.
• Re-cover the casserole dish , return to oven and bake for 7 minutes more.
• Remove dish from oven, uncover, sprinkle with the scallions, garnish with the reserved clams in shell and serve immediately.
• A wonderful light meal, served with fruit salad.

BAKED CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL: VONGOLE GRATINATE AL FORNO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Scrub the clams under cold running water.
• Pry them open and rinse out any sand or grit.
• Gently separate the top and bottom shells, loosening and allowing the clam to divide, with some remaining on the top shell and some remaining on the bottom shell.
• Use a knife to loosen the clam in the shell, removing any sand or grit that may have been under the clam. All of the clams may not divide evenly between the top and bottom shell. Cut these clams into small pieces and distribute among the other shells. You should have at least 16 clamshell halves to fill and bake. Arrange the clam-filled shells on a baking sheet and set aside.
• In a small bowl, toss together the bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic. Use a fork to stir the olive oil into this mixture. It should be moist but not oily. Set aside.
• Fill each clam with a portion of the topping mixture, spreading it evenly over the clam to the edge of the shell. The filling should be about 1/8-inch thick.
• Bake until the topping begins to brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and adjust oven temperature to broil. Place the clams under the broiler and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

SPAGHETTI CON LE VONGOLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Clams should come already clean when you buy them, but I still recommend they don't have any sand, so it's best soak them in water for about one hour to fully purge them.
• Boil the water to cook the pasta
• In a large pan, warm up a clove of garlic and the bay leaf.
• When the pan is properly hot, add the clams and place a lid. Let them cook for a few minutes, until they open.
• Once they do, pick them out one by one, tossing any that hasn't opened at all.
• Keep some of them with the shell, for serving, and make sure to also save the water the clams have released when they cooked: filter the water with a kitchen cloth to remove any leftover sand.
• Chop the two remaining cloves of garlic in half and place them in a small pot with cold water. As soon as the water boils, throw it away. Repeat this process for three times.
• Once done, place the cooked garlic in a mixer with parsley, two teaspoons of bottarga, two spoons of extra virgin olive oil, and a ladle of clams water. Blend and set aside.
• Once the water boils, throw in the pasta. Meantime, warm up the remaining water from the clams in a pan with the remaining olive oil.
• Drain the pasta one minute before full cooking time and skip it with the clam water on high heat. Once it's cooked, add the clams and the garlic cream.
• Serve the spaghetti with clams by adding some clams in their shell, the remaining bottarga, white pepper and some more garlic cream.

VONGOLE AL CARTOCCIO: CLAMS COOKED IN FOIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Divide the clams, garlic cloves, flat-leaf parsley, and cherry tomatoes into 4 equal portions.
• Take 2 sheets of aluminum foil and place them on top of each other to create a sturdier base. Lift all 4 sides up to create a container. Place 1 portion of clams, garlic, parsley, and tomatoes in the center. Drizzle with 1/4 of extra-virgin olive oil and wine. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure there is extra room in the aluminum foil container so that the clams can steam open. Grab all the sides of the aluminum foil and tightly seal them closed, to prevent the steam from escaping.
• Repeat the above process 3 more times to create 4 individual servings. Place the foil packets in the oven for approximately 20 minutes to allow all the clams to fully open. Serve the sealed aluminum foil packages immediately. Allow each guest to open their own individual packages to experience all the aromas contained.

SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE (SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS)

Steps:

• Saute garlic and pepper in the oil. Add the tomatoes and cook 10 to 15 minutes over medium flame. Add clams, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Clams are cooked when they are opened.
• Serve over spaghetti or your choice of pasta cooked al dente. Don't eat any of the clams that do not open.