Clams provide a tasty, reasonably priced seafood option for summer cookouts. These bivalves pair well with many dishes and make a filling meal on their own. Try them with various wine pairings to serve an easy, but succulent meal.
The cheap, tasty clam makes a terrific snack or the entree for a delicious meal. A popular choice to serve at summer cookouts, you can easily steam these tasty treats.
The steamed clam also proves highly nutritious. The multitude of health benefits of these bivalves includes providing Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, a lean source of protein, cancer-preventing characteristics, and the promotion of sexual health.
The versatile clam compliments many dishes and pairs well with wine. Read on to learn the many dishes with which you can serve steamed clams.
Table of Contents
- Ideas for Steaming Your Clams
- What to Serve with Your Steamed Clams?
- What Wine Should You Serve with Clams?
- Bon Appetit
Related: Clams vs. Mussels | Clams vs. Oysters | Types of Clams | How to Clean Clams | How to Store Clams | Clam Alternatives
Ideas for Steaming Your Clams
Sure, you can prepare clams in just a little butter and water to make the most out of the brine, but you can add something here and there to make it taste even more fabulous. Try slicing a clove of garlic and sauteing it, then add it to the water.
You can replace the water in which you brine the clams with beer, sake, or wine. Steaming in this does not make them alcoholic. When you cook with alcohol, the heat cooks out the alcohol, turning the liquor into nothing more than flavoring, so you’re still safe to serve this to children. Towards the end of the steaming time, add your favorite herbs.
What to Serve with Your Steamed Clams?
Your steamed clams want some company on your plate. Toss them with your choice of pasta. Try a simple spaghetti noodle, linguini, mostaccioli, or penne. The juices from steaming them make a delicious sauce. Pair this with a couple of pieces of toasted garlic bread and melted butter for a delicious seafood meal. Also, try these ingredients as mix-ins as you toss it all together:
- Chorizo,
- Foie gras,
- Salami,
- Sausage.
You say you want to go beyond clams and pasta? Linguine with clam sauce just seems too basic to you. Oh, alright. You have many alternatives because the humble, but mighty clam goes so well with many types of food. It is a common ingredient in Korean, Thai, Italian, American, and many other ethnic foods. Consider pairing your steamed clams with the following dishes for a quick meal:
- kimchi soup with tofu,
- fish broth with corn,
- spicy tomato soup and garlic mayonnaise,
- farfalle pasta topped with basil pesto and corn,
- shuck them and drop them into a New England clam chowder,
- serve on the side with spring pea fish chowder and crusty bread,
- top a green salad of spinach and chard with clams.
When you have more free time, you can cook something a little more fancy with these wonderful seafood delights. Here are a few ideas for your steamed clams, many of which use an outdoor grill.
Grilled Seafood Paella: You will also need chicken, chorizo, lobster, and shrimp for this dish. You must actively monitor the pan to ensure even heating.
Lemon Fregola with Herbs and Cockles: Pair the Sardinian pasta, fregola, with cockles. The herbs bring out the flavor of the clams. The lemon compliments the clams, too, and pairs well with any seafood.
Chile-Lime Clams: Steam the clams in a skillet on the grill to capture their brine and stir in the tomatoes toward the end. Pair this with grilled bread for a delicious summer meal.
Grilled Clam Toasts: Steam your clams while you grill a little lemon, green olives, and melt Parmesan onto toast points. Top the toast with the clams or serve them on the side.
Chickpeas and Green Garlic: Seattle chef Renee Erickson developed this dish that is easy to make.
Stout-Steamed Shellfish: If you need to cook for a small army, you can easily double this recipe. Combine it with charred onions and toasted baguettes for a hearty seafood meal.
Fettuccine ai Frutti di Mare: Hopefully, you really aren’t tired of pasta because this fettuccine dish perfectly complements clams. It also works great as a holiday meal because you can make the sauce a day ahead of the meal.
Clams in White Bean Sauce: Pair clams with legumes for a tasty and filling meal. This uses cannellini beans, leeks, and littleneck clams.
Coconut-Clam Stock: You can serve this in plain coconut stock or add a curry paste to it to create a spicy Thai dish. Red or green curry paste will transform this into a warming meal for winter. Add steamed mussels to the soup with your steamed littleneck clams.
Crispy Gnocchi: It might surprise you to learn that the potato-stuffed pasta goes well with clams, but it does. Let the gnocchi brown on one side.
Hot Italian Sausage and Handmade Pasta: You really need to set aside a day for this but making your own pasta can prove a fulfilling experience. You roll and shape it as you desire, and you can add your own spices to the dough. You can make the dough ahead of time, then refrigerate it, so it is handy when you want to cook.
Garlic and Olive Loaf: Just slice and toast the loaf of bread. Serve it with your steamed clams and a glass of wine.
Anything Goes Donabe: Cut chicken, vegetables, and the other seafood ingredients into uniform pieces then poach them in the dashi-based broth. Serve over a bed of glass noodles.
Red Snapper in Coconut-Clam Broth: Crusted with fennel seeds, the red snapper provides a crunchy pairing to chewy steamed clams.
Clam and Cod Chowder: Use clam juice to make this delicious hot meal on a weeknight. If you have time on the weekend, you can also make this stock from scratch. Be careful to not add salt to the chowder since clams provide copious amounts of natural salt.
Tofu Sundubu: This succulent Korean stew uses tofu and red chile stock, so prepare for some spice to temper the salty clams you drop into the stew.
Linguine and Clams: Toast your almonds and use them to top the pasta alongside the clams.
Chorizo and Clam Paella: Smoky saffron flavors this seafood and sausage delicacy.
Bacon and Clam Pizza: You can’t order this one for takeout, but you can make it at home. Top it with blanched garlic and olive oil. You probably want to skip stuffing the crust with cheese on this one.
New Potatoes and Spring Onions: Clams and potatoes complement one another. If you cannot find new potatoes, choose a small potato, also known as a baby potato.
Miso Clam Chowder: This fusion dish merges New England clam chowder with the light Japanese soup that commonly accompanies sushi. Add a tray of sushi for a filling meal.
Sake-Steamed Clams over Soba Noodles: Also, a Japan-inspired dish, cook your soba noodles as you would an Italian pasta – al dente.
Linguine with Clams and Fennel: Crunchy fennel adds complexity to the clams and linguine. Don’t be afraid to play with the recipe and add your favorite spices to this one along with a bit of shaved garlic.
Bacon and Chard Pizza: The assertive taste of chard isn’t just for salads. Top your pizza with it and a bit of bacon and clams. Try smoky bacon for a fun contrast.
Spaghetti alle Vongole: Use the clam brine as a broth. Using fresh clams make the dish sing with flavor.
Paccheri and Clams: The shape of Paccheri holds sauce better than most pasta, so it better absorbs the salty clam flavors.
What Wine Should You Serve with Clams?
Clams work best with dry white wine. You can choose from Pinot Grigio, Sancerre, or Sauvignon Blanc. If you prepare a dish that has other meats in it, double-check your wine choice. You don’t want your wine to conflict with the other meats. For example, chorizo goes with red wine, such as Shiraz and Paso Robles. You can find non-alcoholic options for wine at most local wineries. Pinot and Shiraz varieties tend to be the most common among the non-alcoholic varieties as these grapes are common.
Bon Appetit
Clams make a delicious meal, whether you need to use canned clam juice and packaged clams, or you have the time to steam some of these beauties in their shells and craft a from-scratch broth. Try these fabulous pairings for a summer seafood meal perfect for any picnic or party.
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