Summer Clam Stew
The summer is here, and it’s great to be out in the fresh air. Every lunch time, I take a break from either the hectic kitchen or my busy office and walk one mile around the campus where I work. It’s wonderful to feel the sun on my skin and the blood pumping through my body. It clears the mind for the rest of the afternoon. I also love to walk during the evenings around my neighborhood with one of my best friends Molly, the dog we got nine years ago for my son’s twelfth birthday. She was from a shelter, the last of eight pups. Her mother was a Labrador and her father a greyhound. She is the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet.
As much as I enjoy walking Molly, some of my favorite walks were in along the beautiful beaches of New Port, Rhode Island. In my previous job, I had to fly to Rhode Island quite often. An added bonus was always having fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants, either lobster, crab, mussels or clams. One of my all-time favorites is clam stew. I’ve kept the recipe below very simple. With little preparation needed and little cooking time required, you’ll be enjoying a hearty bowl of goodness with a nice chilled glass of white Cotes du Rhone or white Pinot Noir in no time.
Did you know that clams are from the mollusk family of ocean dwellers? With over 80,000 known species, they are one of the largest groups of sea creatures in the world. Three ounces of clams provides over 700 percent of the daily value for vitamin B12 and 66 percent for iron.
Summer Clam Stew
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon dried chili flakes
½ cup carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
½ cup zucchini, diced small
1 can low no added salt chopped tomatoes
4 cups low sodium fish stock
1lb little neck clams
1lb cherry stone clams
1 can low sodium butter beans, drained
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges
6 slices stale whole wheat bread, toasted
How to make:
Take a large sauce pan or wok, add the oil, place over a medium high heat, add the onion, garlic, and chili flakes cook for 2 minutes, without coloring, then add the carrots and zucchini, cook for 1 minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes and fish stock, bring to the boil, then add the clams, cover with a lid or foil and down the heat down to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes until all the clams have completely opened.
Remove the lid or foil and stir in the beans and parsley, simmer for 2 minutes and serve with toasted bread and lemon wedges.