I remember the first time I ever tasted a clam. It was horrific. I was maybe older than 4 and younger than 6. Batman and Robin were being fed to a giant clam, and that is when I decided to try clams. I hate, hate, hated it.
Fast forward to my early 20s at a little Italian restaurant called Piccolissimo in Fort Lee NJ, (gone now), the baked clams were fabulous. Dipping bread in the sauce was also fabulous.
I still don’t like raw clams, though I love cold water raw oysters, raw scallops, and raw sea urchin (uni).
I don’t think I have ever had bad baked clams at an Italian restaurant. Will do clams casino in another post. Sometimes a restaurant uses chopped clams with stuffing packed back into the shell. To me, that’s cheating. When you have had them this way, you will never want them any other way. Now, I like little necks, but there is no reason why you couldn’t do this with cherry stones or other larger clams.
The Carmines cook book is a worthwhile investment. So many great recipes.
Once you go Carmine’s you won’t go back.
1 dozen little neck clams
About ½ cup of carmines bread crumbs
Bottle of clam juice
Some Romano cheese (optional)
Olive oil
About 2 teaspoons crush finely chopped garlic
Shuck the clams – make sure you cut the muscle and clean off all shell fragments
Arrange them on a baking sheet or oven safe sauce pan
Pour a little clam juice over each clam
Pack some bread crumbs into each clam
Sprinkle some Romano cheese onto each (optional)
Drizzle some olive oil onto each
Scatter the garlic into the pan
Bake at 400° for about 15 minutes, until they are golden.
Broil for a minute or two to slightly brown the tops.
Serve with lemon wedges. Repent that you didn’t make 2 dozen.
Kiss yourself for making deliciousness.
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