CIDER-STEAMED CLAMS WITH BACHKA
This dish, by Mark Southon from his cookbook Southon Cooking, is best enjoyed with lots of the sauce spooned over the clams while they’re piping hot. A feast made for sharing!
Ingredients
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 fresh chilli, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
olive oil
50 grams smoked bacon, diced
100 grams Salash Bachka salami, medium hot, finely sliced
2 kilograms mixed Cloudy Bay diamond shell clams and tuatua
1 cup cider
14 cherry tomatoes, halved
25 grams butter
good pinch of chopped fresh mixed herbs, e.g. parsley, coriander, chives
juice of 1 lemon
Method
Sweat the shallots, chilli and garlic in a little olive oil in a large, uncovered frying pan over a medium heat for 4 mins. Add the bacon and salami and cook for 5 mins. Add the clams and tuatua and toss them in the pan
Pour in the cider, then cover the pan and increase the heat and cook for a few more minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and continue cooking, covered, until the clams are open (discard any that do not open). Strain the juice into a clean saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the butter, chopped herbs and lemon juice. Arrange the cooked clam mixture in serving bowls – not forgetting the meaty bits – and pour the sauce over them