Spicy Clam Stew, a success...

Fast and easy:

Prep:  30 minutes

Cook:  56 minutes

Rest: 30 minutes

Makes:  4 servings

4 pounds clams, scrubbed

1 tablespoon cornmeal

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced, or 1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons roasted garlic puree, see note

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, plus more for garnish

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 Discard any clams that remain open when tapped or appear broken.  Place the clams in a large bowl of cold water; sprinkle the cornmeal over the water.  Let the clams sit, 30 minutes.  Drain and rinse cams to remove any cornmeal

2 Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the shallots; cook, stirring, until soften, 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, white wine, garlic puree, parsley, chives, salt and pepper to taste; heat to a simmer.  Cook, 2 minutes; stir in the red pepper flakes.

3 Add the clams to the simmering liquid;  cover tightly.  Steam until the clams open, shaking the pan around to evenly cook the clams, 6-8 minutes.  Remove the clams with a slotted spoon; place in a large soup tureen or individual shallow soup bowls.  Spoon the tomato liquid over the clams; garnish with chives.

Note: For roasted garlic puree, cut off the top quarter of a whole head of garlic.  Pull off any loose skin; sprinkle with olive oil.  Wrap head in foil; bake on baking sheet at 425 degrees until garlic is soft, 45 minutes to an hour.  Cool; squeeze pulp from cloves into a shallow bowl.

Nutrition Information

Per serving:  193 calories, 39% of calories from fat, 8 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 46 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrates, 19 g protein, 274 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Thank you Chicago Tribune for the basic recipe! Keep in mind that you may also use mussels instead or as a combo!  My changes are that I used my olive oil spray, I added extra tomatoes and some hot peppers from our patio garden, instead of the red pepper flakes.  Too make it have more of a Spanish flare I would have also added saffron if we had some and smoked Spanish paprika!  Hurray, another trip to the Spice House!