Tuesday, September 6, 2016, I celebrated with this dish at Matunuck Oyster Bar. Comforting clam, sausage mix with sweet and dry white wine for powerful flavor. With small canellini beans, saffron and sage. Delicious broth. Simple and fast to make, great for a crowd, served with Matunuck Belgian White. On Lee's Make List with similar exotic appetizer "Susur Lee's Chinese-Style Paella" with Chinese sausage, butternut squash, spinach, fettuccini, and Little Necks and "Spaghetti alle Vongole" napolitana.

Steamed Littlenecks with Chorizo, Tomatoes, White Beans Matunuck Oyster Bar 9/6/16

Serves: 2 - 4

Ingredients:

2 dozen littleneck clams
2 links chorizo sausage
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 large clove garlic
approx. 1 cup diced canned tomatoes
1 15-ounce can white beans (see hints below)
1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme (see hints below)
approx. 1/2 cup chicken stock (see hints below)

Country toast for serving

Procedure:

1. The clams need to be scrubbed under cold running water to remove any sand from the outsides.
2. Use a large heavy bottomed pan with a splash of olive oil to saute 1 medium diced onion to soften.
3. Once the onions are soft, add 1 large minced clove of garlic and 2 chopped links of chorizo sausage and let those things cook along for a minute.
4. Then add 1/2 of a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes and 1 whole, partially drained 15-ounce can of white beans, add 1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme, add the littleneck clams, add a little splash of chicken stock, turn the heat to high and put a lid on top.
5. The clams might not take any more than 5 minutes or so to steam open and you can take a minute to toast some country bread to serve with them at that point.
6. Divide the clams into individual bowls and serve them with country toast on the side.

Hints:

• Chorizo sausage is a smoked, spicy pork sausage very popular in Spain, Portugal and some South American countries.
• This recipe uses "butter beans" but you can use any white bean you like.
• Substitute chopped parsley or green onions for the thyme if you don't have it.
• Add a handful of chopped greens, like kale or swiss chard, to the mix for a nice twist.
• Use bottled clam juice or white wine instead of chicken stock if you like.

from Brick Alley Pub chef Gary Mathias [Brick Alley's Cod Portuguese]

Clams Portuguese

Brick Alley's Clams Portuguese

1 pound soft Spanish chorizo sausage, casings removed, coarsely crumbled
2 large green bell peppers, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (or more if sausage is mild)
32 littleneck clams (about 5 pounds), scrubbed
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1 red bell pepper
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

Heat large pot over medium-high heat. Add first 3 ingredients to pot; sauté until vegetables are tender and sausage is brown, stirring frequently and breaking up sausage with back of fork, about 10 minutes. Add clam juice, wine, and crushed red pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 3 minutes. Add clams; cover and cook until clams open, about 8 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro.

Transfer mixture to large bowl. Top with 1/4 cup cilantro and red bell pepper. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Portuguese Cod

from Brick Alley Pub chef Gary Mathias [Brick Alley's Clams Portuguese]

1 small white onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine, plus more for cooking cod
1 bunch curly kale, washed, stemmed, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 links mild chorizo, sliced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon table-grind black pepper
2 cans white kidney (cannellini) beans, drained
4 to 6 (10-ounce) pieces fresh cod
Garlic butter
Cilantro, sweet red bell pepper and lemon wedge (for garnish)

Lightly sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, white wine, kale and tomatoes and cook covered for 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat. Uncover and stir in chorizo, red pepper, salt and black pepper. Cover and cook another 5 to 8 minutes. Uncover and stir in cannellini beans and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Broil fresh cod topped with garlic butter and dry white wine.

Portion the kale, chourico and bean mix into serving bowls. Place the lightly cooked cod on cannellini mix and garnish with a mix of fresh chopped cilantro and diced sweet red bell pepper. Place a lemon wedge on the rim to finish.

Serves 4 to 6.