Clams

By Food & Wine
Updated March 20, 2018
John Kernick
These incredible recipes for briny clams include salad-topped pizza, creamy bacon-studded risotto and fantastic Korean stew.
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Baked Clams with Bacon and Garlic


Marcus Nilsson
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In this ultimate version of baked clams, chef Daniel Humm includes chopped clams in the filling, doubling down on briny clam flavor. Bacon, parsley, lemon and a touch of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese add a savory, herby kick.

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Spaghetti with Clams and Braised Greens

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To give spaghetti with fresh clam sauce more flavor, chef Ashley Christensen purees sweet roasted bell peppers into the spicy, briny broth.

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Pop-Open Clams with Horseradish-Tabasco Sauce

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"You can't get lazier than this," says Marcia Kiesel, who simply puts clams on the hot grill and waits a minute or two for them to open and start sizzling. Then she takes them off the heat and tops them with a spicy sauce spiked with horseradish and Tabasco.

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Littleneck Clams Steamed 
in Vinho Verde


© Eva Kolenko
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Abraham Conlon of Fat Rice in Chicago uses Portuguese Vinho Verde, a light and refreshing young wine, to add bright, delicious flavor to his briny clams.

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Beer-Braised Chicken Wings with Clams and Chickpeas

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne
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The dish from Jamie Bissonnette is like a delicious mash-up of beer-steamed clams and roast chicken wings. He came up with this eclectic recipe when guests arrived for a dinner that he'd forgotten about. "It was a wicked lucky success," he admits. Bissonnette recommends serving this with grilled bread.

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Sake-Steamed Clams

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This recipe comes from Nobuo Fukuda (an F&W Best New Chef 2003). He suggests using a cooking sake, or ryori. One brand he likes is Shochikubai.

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Clam Pizza with Salad Topping

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We've always secretly liked scooping up a bite of salad with a piece of pizza, and lately the idea of mounding dressed greens on top of pizza has caught on with hot chefs, too.

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Clam Risotto with Bacon and Chives

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If you buy just-shucked whole clams rather than already chopped clams in a container, use their liquid instead of the bottled clam juice; just be sure to strain it first through a paper towel to remove any grit.

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Escarole Salad with Clams and Grilled Corn

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Clams add a delightful briny flavor to this escarole and grilled corn salad, which smacks of summer.

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Clams with Hot Pepper, Saffron & Tomato Confit

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The clams’ natural juices, flavored with saffron, make a wonderful broth; a drizzle of basil-scented tomato oil enhances the flavor even more.

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Cataplana Stew with Sausage and Clams

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Portuguese cataplana is a long-simmered pork stew to which clams are added. For our quick take on the dish, we’ve replaced the usual pork shoulder with sausage.

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Clams with Pork and Golden Garlic

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Ground pork and clams are a common combination in Chinese recipes. Marcia Kiesel sautés the two quickly with slivers of garlic, then adds black-bean chile sauce (easy to find at supermarkets) to create a dish with deep, briny flavor and some heat.

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Spaghetti with Clams and Crispy Bread Crumbs

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Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg toasts bread crumbs in olive oil until crispy to sprinkle over pasta dishes, like this simple spaghetti and clams.

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Viognier-Steamed Clams with Bacon and Parsnips

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Chef Dean Maupin thinks most things taste better with smoky bacon. These bacon-garnished briny clams, steamed in Virginia's fruity and floral Viognier, are such a big hit that he serves them regularly during the cooler spring and fall months.

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Crispy Potato, Bacon and Clam Flatbread

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“This is our riff on New England clam chowder,” says Claudia Fleming of the delectable flatbread that she and Gerry Hayden collaborate on (she makes the dough; he prepares the toppings).

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Kamut Spaghetti with Clams, Chicory and Parsley

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Paola Budel updates linguine with clams by using pasta made with kamut (an ancient variety of wheat) and adding bitter chicory and a bright parsley sauce.

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Manila Clams with Hot Soppressata and Sweet Vermouth

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Chef Tommy Habetz combines hot soppressata with Manila clams, a very common West Coast shellfish; for cooks on the East Coast, he recommends using either littleneck clams or cockles.

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Foie Gras-Steamed Clams

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Jonathon Sawyer uses a little bit of foie gras to create a luscious sauce for clams. "It's such a simple recipe," he says. "I just put the clams, foie gras and vinegar in a pot and just let them get to know each other for a while."

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Spicy Tonnarelli with Clams

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20 of 29

Clams the Sailor's Way

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It's not uncommon in Galicia to have a meal that consists of lots of different shellfish, bread and nothing else. Encarna Méndez prepares clams the fisherman's way: steamed in Albariño with onion and garlic.

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Ten-Minute Salt Cod with Corn and Littleneck Clams

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Instead of using salt cod, a classic Portuguese ingredient that takes days to soak, New York City chef George Mendes quick-cures fresh cod by standing it in kosher salt for only 10 minutes. He says cod is naturally soft and flaky ("as well as bland," he adds), so salting gives it a firmer texture and a more pronounced flavor.

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Lobster, Clam and Kimchi Stew

© Michael Turek
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"Kimchi stew is a fast and easy way to use up kimchi that's become too sour for people to eat straight," says Marja Vongerichten. Traditional Korean recipes are usually packed with a mix of seafood, but in this elegant version, Marja uses just lobster and clams.

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Bucatini with Clams and Red Peppers

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This riff on pasta with clams features strips of sweet roasted pepper, toasted walnuts and fresh herbs along with Middle Eastern flavors like pomegranate molasses and cumin.

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Miso Clam Chowder with Parsley Oil

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This creamy New England-style clam chowder gets reinvented with a bit of savory white miso paste. Parsley oil is another unexpected but delicious addition.

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White Clam Pie

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Braised Pork with Clams

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George Mendes updates this classic Iberian combination by adding pickled vegetables.

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Smoky Clam Chowder

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Nicki Reiss set out to develop this hearty, healthful, tomato-packed clam chowder based on flavors she enjoyed on a trip to Spain. As an alternative to smoky (and fatty) chorizo, Reiss turned to soyrizo, her favorite soy-based vegetarian sausage.

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Linguine with Clams, Bacon, and Tomato

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Clams and bacon form a delectable union enhanced by wine-flavored tomato sauce. We recommend chopped clams, which are sold in refrigerated containers in many fish shops and at supermarkets, but you can also use good-quality canned clams.

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Clams Carbonara


John Kernick
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Boston chef Matt Jennings’s pasta combines two beautiful things: salty, rich carbonara and spaghetti alle vongole, prepared with briny New England clams.

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