CLAMS CASINO
Tender little clams are steamped then topped with a buttery breadcrumb mixture. Spicy sausage, garlic, shallot and parsley in every bite!
Serves 2-4 as an appetizer
Total Time :1 hour | Total Active Time: 50 min.
Clams Casino
Yield: 4 as an appetizer
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 30 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 1 Hour
Ingredients
Steamed Clams
- 1 dozen littleneck clams
- Juice from 1 lemon (~2 tbsp)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (kept whole)
Topping
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ link spicy italian sausage
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp parsley
- Reserved clam water (from steaming)
- Lemon wedges (for serving)
Instructions
Steamed Clams
- Prep the clams by soaking them in cold water for 30 minutes. Rinse and scrub the outside, getting rid of any sand.
- In a large pan or pot, add enough water to cover the bottom in a 1 cm layer. Add the smashed garlic and juice of 1 lemon. Turn heat to medium high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add in the clams and cover with a lid.
- Steam for 6 minutes, then begin removing the clams that have opened. If any clams have not opened after 12 minutes, discard them.
- Once the clams have cooled, pry the top shell off by twisting and pulling away. Gently separate the meat from the bottom shell and place the clam meat back into its shell. Set aside.
- Turn the heat off and reserve the garlic and leftover water.
Topping
- In a pan (can be the same one you used for the clams, just wipe it down), heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage (removed from its casing) and break it up to as small as possible pieces with a spoon.
- Once the sausage is golden brown, add 2 tbsp butter, the diced shallot, celery and garlic. Cook for 5-8 minutes until softened.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and position the rack in the upper third of your oven.
- Finely dice the reserved steamed garlic from earlier and add it to the pan along with ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs. Toast the breadcrumbs for 7-10 minutes until they are all toasted and golden. (Watch it carefully as it can burn quickly)
- Add the reserved clam water tbsp at a time until the breadcrumbs are plump and moist. You want to add enough water that each crumb is soaked, but not too much that the water is seeping out of them.
- Press in a heaping spoon of breadcrumb mixture onto each clam and place on a baking tray.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until the breadcrumbs have darkened slightly and are golden brown.
- Serve with lemon wedges.