Sunday morning low tide proved to be another gem. The oysters were still abundant, although a bit smaller than previous weeks. A half a peck got me about 50. There was a lot more work involved when it came to the littlenecks and quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria – different names for different sizes) – I got about 2 dozen, but it took almost a full hour to dig them out of the thick mud. The rain and the 50 degree weather did not help the digging effort either, especially for someone clad in waders. In the end, it was well worth it – a great meal awaits.
It seems just about everyone has a family recipe for these bivalves, but I will add some more, just in case…
You can have them as an appetizer. Like oysters, they can be eaten raw. Scrub and chill for a minute or two, then clean and shuck. Serve with coctail sauce and lemon…
Steamed quahogs:
- 2 dozen quahogs
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1 minced onion
- 1 lemon
- stick of butter (melted)
Wash and scrub 2 dozen smaller quahogs, make sure to remove all sand and mud from the shells. In a large pot heat wine and spices until the mixture boils. Add the quahogs, cover and steam until they open (10 minute or so). Drain and serve with melted butter and lemon. Hmm hmm hmm
Linguine (or pasta of your liking) with white clam sauce:
- 2 dozen quahogs, steamed and shucked
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup olive oil (whatever you like, I use virgin)
- 1 dozen minced scallions
- 1/2 cup minced parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
Start with mincing the cooked clams. Saute the scallions and garlic in olive oil (in a frying pan or wok) for 5 minutes or so. Add the minced clams with the parsley and cook for another 2 minutes. Reduce heat, add wine, oregano and thyme. Simmer some more, up to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper if desired. Cook one pound of linguine or pasta, and pour the clams over it. Serves 4. Bon appetit!
A nice little twist on a similar theme is the following: Linguini alle Vongole Veraci (Linguine with Littleneck Clams).  My wife found this recipe on http://ouritaliantable.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/linguini-alle-vongole-pasta-with-littleneck-clams/ and put her spin on it (not that she needs any help to begin with)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- About 3 or so pounds of littleneck clams
- 1 cup dry white wine
- Salt, to taste
- 1 pound of linguine
Start off with bringing to boil a large pot of salted water for the pasta. While the water is boiling, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and about half of the parsley and saute in the skillet until fragrant, about a minute or so. Next, add the clams and cover the pan. Cook for another few minutes. Then, add the wine to the skillet and cook, uncovered, for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Cover the skillet, shaking occassionally and allow to cook until all the clams have opened – about 10 minutes. Discard any shells that have not opened – luckily there were none of those in our dish. Add pasta to water once boiling and cook until tender, about 11 minutes (according to package directions). Drain pasta. Add pasta to skillet with clams. Reduce heat to medium-low and toss. Drizzle with extra olive oil. Add salt to taste. Cook for 1 minutes longer. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve! Star rating *****
You don’t need a stick of butter to steam quahogs well, just the wine and a little olive oil gives enough flavor.