Clams | I Can Cook That

Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

Note: I was sent a ZOS wine saver for review. All opinions are mine alone.

Using wine in recipes both adds and enhances flavor. I love cooking with both red and white wine, but I really only drink red wine. Which means I keep a re-corked bottled of white wine in my fridge, which over time, begins to oxidize and change taste (and not for the better!)

So when I was contacted to try ZOS wine saver, I was intrigued. The ZOS wine saver is a solution that eliminates 100% of the oxygen from an opened bottle of wine, which can preserve the bottle for weeks or months. The ZOS wine stopper has an oxygen-absorbing cartridge that allows you to use a small amount of wine and still maintain its flavor for future use.

The ZOS wine saver is made of an oxygen barrier stopper attached to a replaceable cartridge. You just insert the ZOS stopper into an open bottle of wine and the cartridge absorbs all of the oxygen in the bottle. Each cartridge lasts 5 to 15 bottles and is easily replaceable. The ZOS wine saver (paid link) can be purchased on Amazon.

With the weather warming up, I wanted to make a yummy seafood recipe that’s hearty but light. Cioppino is a fish stew originally from San Francisco, utilizing whatever was caught that day at sea. This recipe for Cioppino (Seafood Stew) includes making a broth and then making the actual soup. The broth can be made a couple of days ahead of time. Both parts of the recipe use white wine, so this recipe is the perfect test for the ZOS wine saver.

Ingredients:

Broth:

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
2 8-oz. bottles clam juice
4 sprigs parsley
2 dried bay leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 lb clams, scrubbed
¼ cup dry white wine
1 lb sea bass, skin removed and cut into 1” pieces
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes (or margarine for dairy free)
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
day old bread, for serving (omit for gluten free)

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Grilled Clams in Lemon Butter Sauce

Now that grilling season is in full swing, I am grilling anything and everything I can, and yes, that includes Grilled Clams in Lemon Butter Sauce!

This recipe for grilled clams is SO easy, and can be made completely on your grill (just make sure you have a cast iron or other grill-safe pot for the sauce, if not, you can make it on your stovetop).

It’s an awesome appetizer to share with friends, just don’t forget the crusty bready for dipping!

Ingredients:

3 dozen clams
2 sticks salted butter (1 cup)
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 scallion
1 sprig fresh oregano
2 sprigs fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh basil
1/4 cup dry white wine
ground pepper, to taste

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Linguine and Clams

I’m sure this happens to everyone: you go out and buy ingredients for a specific recipe, but then are left with “extras” from that recipe. Normally, it’s not a big deal and you can just incorporate it easily into another recipe. But when I went to make Sheet Pan Paella recently, my supermarket was only selling 50 packs of clams. That’s a lot of clams!

To use them up, I decided to make Linguine and Clams, but used what I had on hand to make it work. So, technically, I made spaghetti and clams. And it tasted just as good. 🙂

I love the relative simplicity of this dish. It also reminds me of my grandpa; linguine and clams were his favorite. So I was surprised that I hadn’t posted a recipe for Linguine and Clams on my blog yet. Time to fix that!

I adapted this version of Linguine and Clams from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:

1 heaping tablespoon salt
12 garlic cloves, divided
4 oz day old bread, cut into smaller pieces (I used half of a sandwich roll)
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
the zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 dozen clams, scrubbed
1 (16 oz) box linguine (or spaghetti)
1/2 cup chopped parsley (I randomly had curly parsley on hand. Flat works too)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

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Sheet Pan Paella

Over the last few years, my husband and I have moved too many times. Since 2014, we have lived in five different apartments/houses. Somehow in one of those many moves, I lost (or threw out) my paella pan. Sigh.

Paella is a favorite of mine. I love the combination of crispy rice, seafood, and spice. So when I saw this Epicurious recipe for a sheet pan version, I knew I had to try it.

I didn’t exactly stick to the original recipe, given what I could find in my post-snow supermarket. But one of the best parts about paella is you can basically throw in whatever you may have on hand to make the recipe yours! So here’s my adapted version – Sheet Pan Paella!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup rice
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon saffron, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 links of Spanish chorizo (about 6 oz)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
6 ounces medium shrimp, peeled, deviened, tails left intact
~2 dozen clams, scrubbed
1 (14 oz can) fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, sliced
1/4 cup green olives, pitted
1/4 cup thinly sliced chives

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Beer Steamed Clams and Mussels

It is fitting that I am able to host this giveaway so close to my blog anniversary! One of my biggest inspirations for learning how to cook and starting a blog to document it was Cooking Light Magazine. My mom on a whim picked up a copy of the magazine while at the supermarket. As I paged through, I was surprised with how simple the recipes seemed to be and how absolutely delicious they all sounded. After cooking a couple of the recipes, I was hooked. Three years later, Cooking Light remains a huge inspiration as I continue to learn how to cook.

One of the best parts of learning to cook is being able to experience different cultures in your very own kitchen. America alone has a ton of different cooking styles with different areas and cities having signature dishes. Allison Fishman Task, a contributing editor of Cooking Light, traveled across America to discover native dishes across the nation. The lightened up versions can be found in Lighten Up. America! Favorite American Foods Made Guilt-Free. The cookbook tackles everything from fried green tomatoes to Philly cheesesteaks.

You can win a copy of this cookbook for your very own! Details after the recipe…

I am always in search of new seafood recipes so I gravitated towards the recipe for Beer Steamed Clams and Mussels. To Philadelphia-ize it, I used a local beer from Philly Brewing Company called Walt Wit.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots, chopped
5 sprigs marjoram
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle Walt Wit (or another Belgian White)
the juice and zest of one orange, divided
10 clams (I used larger clams but I’d suggest using Littlenek)
24 mussels in shells, scrubbed and debearded
6 lemon wedges

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Seafood Arrabbiata

My boyfriend and I have been trying to eat less meat and increase our seafood, shellfish, and vegetarian dinner options. In general, vegetarian and fish dinner options are also a great choice for a weeknight dinner because they take very little time to prepare.

This recipe for Seafood Arrabbiata from Cooking Light incorporates a few different types of shellfish into a spicy tomato broth that is served over pasta.

“Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian alluding to the spiciness of the dish. You can alter the spices to your liking. I’d suggest adding very little crushed red pepper, and then having a shaker of red pepper when serving so each person can customize their level of heat.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 (16oz box) uncooked linguine
2 tablespoons chili olive oil, divided (I used Nudo Olive Oil with Sicilian Chillies), (can substitute regular olive oil)
8 ounces sea scallops
8 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
salt and pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or 1/2 teaspoon if using regular olive oil)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon anchovy paste, optional
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup clam juice
24 littleneck clams
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

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Clams with Spicy Sausage

I (like most people, I’m sure) cook mostly things I want to eat. Every now and then, I will get a special request and will go outside my comfort zone (like this Meatloaf recipe, or this Sriracha Deviled Eggs recipe) but when it comes to a weeknight dinner, I’m really selfish about what I cook. So I thought it might be nice if I finally made something that was up my boyfriend’s alley more so than mine.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like what’s going on in this recipe. I just don’t usually make meals with sausage. But I was reminded of this recipe for Clams with Spicy Sausage as a suggestion to make on World Oceans Day as a Perfect Protein blogger (more information on that in my post on Thai Coconut Mussels), which was June 8. So. Um. I’m a little late. But this recipe is too tasty not to share!

This recipe can be found in the book The Perfect Protein: The Fish Lovers Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World and is from the ultimate seafood chef, Eric Ripert. This man knows his fish; one of his restaurants, Le Bernardin is known as a seafood mecca. But this recipe is really easy to make and cooks quickly, making it perfect for weeknight meals. I altered the recipe slightly but the gist is still the same.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon curry powder
the zest of 1 lemon
1 andouille sausage, thinly sliced
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
2 dozen littleneck clams, well scrubbed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
lemon wedges, for serving

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Seafood Risotto

Sorry for the break in posting! I moved into a new apartment and had to get everything up and running before I could go back to cooking. I still don’t have everything set up (which is why my photos are a bit crummy). I now have a gas stove (woo hoo!) and a ton of storage for all my random kitchen gadgets!

On my first night of unpacking some kitchen stuff, I was able to make a favorite of mine for dinner: risotto! I adapted the recipe from a Cooking Light recipe and just fit it to my seafood tastes and what I could find.

Ingredients:

4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (10.5-ounce) can of white clam sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
the juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup grape tomatoes, halved
4 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 dozen clams
1 cup cooked mussel meat (or you can buy mussels and put in the same time as the clams)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

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Tomato Seafood Chowder &Review of Pomi Vodka Sauce

We all have those nights where we are absolutely too exhausted to cook. I tend to go straight for pasta whenever these nights come up, but recently I’ve been running low on my homemade tomato sauce. Sigh. I will of course whip up a batch of my tomato sauce when I have time, but it takes a good three hours to make!

Luckily, Pomi must have sensed my tomato sauce drought, and asked if I’d be willing to try some of their new sauces, specifically the Vodka Sauce and the Alfredo Sauce. (They also have traditional Marinara and Tomato & Basil sauces.) Not only do I get to try theses sauces, but Pomi is also going to send one lucky reader one box each of the Vodka Sauce and the Alfredo Sauce! I will discuss the giveaway at the end of this post, so stick with me!

I was excited to try Pomi. Unlike most tomato sauces, Pomi products actually come in boxes and are BPA-free. BPA, or bisphenol A is a compound used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are typically used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles, and baby bottles. Epoxy resins are mainly used to coat the inside of metal products, such as food cans. The issue is there is evidence that BPA can seep into food and be absorbed into the human body, causing damage to the cardiovascular and reproductive systems, possibly leading to cancer, diabetes, asthma and obesity. Although more research needs to be completed, it has been suggested that consumers should try to limit their BPA exposure. Pomi also uses 100% natural tomatoes (no pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified seeds are used) and they do not add preservatives or artificial flavors to the end result.

Naturally, you can used these sauces just poured over freshly cooked pasta. But I decided to also test how versatile these sauces are. To save from a ridiculously long post, the Alfredo Sauce post will be coming shortly!

I decided to use the Vodka Sauce to make a Tomato Seafood Chowder. Pomi’s vodka sauce ingredients include: tomatoes, heavy cream, vodka, onion, cheeses, garlic, basil and parsley, which sounded like a wonderful base for a soup.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup orzo, uncooked

1 medium sized yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pound raw bay scallops

1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup chicken broth

1 box Pomi Vodka Sauce

1/2 can diced tomatoes, optional

1 dozen clams
8 oz crab meat

2 tablespoons sliced fresh basil, for garnish

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Cook the orzo according to package instructions on the package. Drain and set aside. While the orzo is cooking, prepare your ingredients: chop the onion, garlic, basil and parsley.

In a large pot, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion ,garlic, dried basil and dried parsley. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the scallops and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring.

Add the clam juice and chicken broth. If you want, you can sub out the clam juice for all broth. Add the Pomi Vodka Sauce, red pepper flakes, and diced tomatoes. If you do not want a chunky stew, you can leave out the chopped tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the clams and cover, cooking for 3-5 minutes or until the clams open.

Stir in the orzo and the crab meat and serve with day old French bread.

There is plenty of salt from the clam juice, chicken broth and Pomi Vodka sauce so you really don’t need to add any. Feel free to add a bit of ground pepper if you’d like.

The Pomi Vodka sauce added plenty of flavor to the soup. It created a wonderful base and tasted awesome with the clams, crab meat and scallops. I strongly suggest adding the red pepper flakes for a tiny bit of heat, it works so well with the tomatoes. My boyfriend, who was really wary of trying the chowder, ended up polishing off his bowl, and he doesn’t even like scallops!

So now, for the giveaway! As a reminder, one reader will receive one box of Pomi Alfredo Sauce and one box of Pomi Vodka Sauce, mailed to your home. Unfortunately, this is only open to U.S. residents.

To enter, please leave a comment below letting me know how you’d use one of the sauces (this one is mandatory).

For extra entries, you can do as many of the following as you please. Leave me a comment below letting me know you’ve done them, each comment counts as a separate entry!

Like I Can Cook That and Pomi on Facebook (comment saying you did so or let me know if you already do)
Follow I Can Cook That on twitter (comment saying you did so or let me know if you already do)
Tweet the following: “I just entered @icancookthat’s Pomi Sauce Giveaway! https://tinyurl.com/3c56eep” (leave a comment saying you did so below)

The winner will be chosen using random.org and will be announced Friday, October 21. All entries must be received by 12:00pm EST on Friday, October 21. Good luck!

Note: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for participating!

Capellini with Clams and Saffron

I am a huge Top Chef fan. So much that my parents bought me the Top Chef cookbook a few years back. However, when I moved, I stored it away and completely forgot about it. I recently found the cookbook again and came across Ilan’s dish: Fideos with Clams and Saffron. My CSA share this week came with broccoli, cauliflower and onion so I thought this would be a perfect way to use these ingredients. Note: I switched up the way this recipe was cooked, used less cream, and added onions and Parmesan. Otherwise, the recipe is pretty close to the original printed version.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound capellini pasta
1 cup heavy cream
1 large pinch of saffron threads
1/2 a medium sized onion, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup broccoli florets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2/3 cup white wine
2 dozen clams
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Continue reading Capellini with Clams and Saffron

Paella

I wanted to challenge myself this weekend, so I decided to try to make paella. I don’t own a paella pan, and I honestly have no idea how to cook paella, so this should be quite the experience. I used a mixture of a recipe from Tyler Florence and one from Cooking Light, keeping my personal taste in mind.

Ingredients:

2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced

1 Spanish onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons parsley (fresh if you have it)

1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 cups rice, whatever you have (long, short, doesn’t matter)

2 quarts plus 2 cups water

1/3 cup flour

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice

1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed

2 pounds mussels, debearded and scrubbed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed (optional)

Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Begin by cleaning and de-bearding the mussels. I couldn’t handle doing this, so thankfully my boyfriend was willing to help.

That wiry-looking thing on the right side of the mussel, that’s the beard. To remove, pull towards the hinge part of the mussel and tug.

yuck

The beards won’t hurt you if you eat them, but they don’t look particularly appetizing. Scrub the mussels to remove any gook that might be left on them. Discard any mussels that are open or cracked. Do the same with the clams. Put the clams and mussels in a mixture of 2 quarts water and 1/3 cup flour for 20 minutes. This helps to remove any sand that may still be in the mussels and clams.

Add the chicken broth, 2 cups water, 1 cup white wine, clam juice and saffron to a pot over medium heat. Simmer, without boiling, then reduce to low to keep warm.

Heat a tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the cut chorizo in the pan and cook until browned. Remove and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onions, garlic and parsley. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and paprika and cook for 5-10 minutes until fragrant.

Add the rice, stirring to coat the rice.

Pour in the saffron broth, simmering for 10 minutes.

Add chorizo, clams and mussels, tucking the clams and mussels into the rice.

Cook for 15 minutes without stirring, until the rice is fluffy and you can smell the rice at the bottom beginning to toast. (This is known as socarrat… paella is supposed to have a toasted bottom.)

Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes (it will be really, really hot). Serve with lemon wedges and peas if desired. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

I have to give myself a little pat on the back for this one (as well as my boyfriend for his wonderful de-bearding skills). Although I was craving a bit more saffron taste, this dish really turned out well overall. It is quite a bit of work, but it produces a whole lot of food, at least 8 servings. As always, don’t eat any clams or mussels that don’t open. A bunch of my clams didn’t open, kind of a bummer. I also think the next time I make this, I would reserve the liquid from the tomatoes and add that in as well for a little extra flavor.

All Gone.