Clams Casino
Who doesn’t remember their first car? I sure do! Mine was a 1981 Dodge Colt that I purchased in 86. This hatchback meant everything to me. It gave me the freedom that my adventurous side was craving. When I put the key in the ignition, I felt like there were no borders and no limitations on how far I could go – what stopped me was my disposable income… Nonetheless I planned many road trips with my friends. Because I was living in Montréal, going down the American East Coast was the right choice although my true dream was to drive along the West Coast which I finally did a little over 20 years later…
That same year, with two of my girlfriends, we went to New York City during Canadian Thanksgiving. For an inexperienced driver, it was quite a challenge to drive in the big apple! I think that if it wasn’t the fact the three of us were so cute, we would probably have received more profanity from the taxi drivers. Besides that issue, the trip was a lot of fun. We had a great time exploring the city, shopping a little and going out to great restaurants. That is when we all discovered the classic Clams Casino! It was so good, we all ordered a second one. I don’t remember what else I ate during that trip except this lovely appetizer.
The other times I had the chance to savor this appetizer was when I was travelling to the US – I don’t recall having Clams Casino here in Canada. Anyway, I made them a couple of times and for no particular reason, I just forgot about them. Last summer we had our friends Louise and Tim over for dinner and suddenly we started talking about classic food from the 80s that just disappeared from the restaurant menus – Clams Casino was on the list. I remembered how flavorful they were and decided to remake them again…
In this video, I’ll show you my version of the classic Clams Casino appetizer. As I said, it’s my “version” of it! I’m not too sure if there’s cheese in the classic one but I sure do enjoy mine with some! It’s an easy recipe to make and the beauty of it is the bacon mixture can be prepared the day before so when you are ready to serve them, the only thing you have to do is to steam the clams, spoon the mixture on top and broil them… tada! So for your next dinner party or soirée, be sure to keep this delicious appetizer in mind!
Bon Appétit!
Here are more tasty seafood/fish appetizer recipes for you to try…
– Crab Artichoke Pepper Dip
– Sausalito Smoked Salmon Dip
– Sardine Cups
– Prawn Saganaki
– Ceviche de Pescado ~ Fish Ceviche
– Vietnamese Summer Rolls
and for even more appetizer recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Appetizers
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Clams Casino
Hover to scale
Ingredients
- 24 large Manila clams, rinsed
- 3 slices bacon, cut roughly in 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp. butter tips & tricks
- 1/3 cup shallots, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted red peppers, finely chopped tips & tricks
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2 cup Panko® breadcrumbs
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 1 small pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped tips & tricks
- 1/4 cup Grana Padano, grated and divided
- lemon wedges, for garnish
Directions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, place a steaming basket. Fill all the way up to the bottom of the basket with water; bring to a boil.
- When water is boiling, add clams, cover and steam for ONLY 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, add bacon and butter; cook until brown but not crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Return the skillet to the burner and add shallots along with roasted red peppers; sauté 1 minute before adding white wine. Cook until the liquid is reduced by 2/3rds. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute; remove from the heat.
- Chop cooked bacon into small pieces; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the roasted red pepper mixture, chopped bacon, breadcrumbs, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and 2 tbsp. grated cheese. Mix the ingredients until very well blended.
- Preheat the oven on broil placing the rack about 10-inches from the heat element.
- Separate clams from the shells and keep the deepest half as a cooking vessel. Place the shells in a baking dish covered with coarse sea salt.
- Spoon the bacon mixture into each shell. Sprinkle a little cheese on top and then parsley.
- Transfer to the oven and broil for 5 minutes or until the top is slightly browned. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
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