Clamtastic

This recipe is one for the books. 

If the book is about not going outside for days because your breath, skin and hair smell of garlic.

Yummy, stinky, glorious garlic.

They say that it is the #1 liver detoxifier, so in these summer months filled with BBQs, happy hours, and foo-foo drinks, think of this recipe as balance.

You're welcome.

Oh, and not to mention, it is really delicious.

I put crusty bread as the first ingredient because it is absolutely necessary for sopping up all of the delicious, garlicy, lemony, buttery goodness at the bottom of the bowl.

Don't forget it! 

Also, this recipe is not strict. 

You can easily adapt it to your liking. 

A little more of this, a little less of that. 

You catch my drift.

In fact, I really wanted squid in the recipe, but our local fish market was sold out; 

I'm sure any bivalve, fish or seafood would suffice.

And you don't need the prosciutto, but it is pretty darn good. 

Recipe:

Feeds 4-6 appetizer style; I served it just like the picture shows with forks, spoons and an additional bowl for shells, and a lot of napkins. 

Ingredients:

*A big loaf of crusty bread, warmed and toasty (or made into garlic bread for the brave)*

2-4 dozen little neck clams, scrubbed and rinsed clean

12-18 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined 

2 oz. pancetta, sliced or diced

1 bulb of garlic, sliced thick or coarsely chopped

6 green onions, diced 

1 large shallot, diced

1/2 cup of olive oil

4 tablespoons of butter

juice of one lemon

1/2 cup of dry white wine

2 cups of whole San Marzano tomatoes, cut into segments

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped herbs (I used a mix of thyme and rosemary)
1 + tsp. of crushed red pepper

s/p

Optional: Toss with a box of cooked spaghetti.

Method:

Saute the pancetta in a few tablespoons of olive oil until browned.

Add garlic, onions, shallot and saute until fragrant, being careful to not burn the garlic. 

Add the rest of the olive oil and butter. 

Cook until melted, stirring the onion/garlic mixture. 

Add lemon juice, wine, tomatoes and crushed red pepper. 

Taste and adjust with s/p if necessary. 

Add shrimp and clams and cover. Cook until the clams open and the shrimp is pink. Sprinkle with herbs. 

Meanwhile, toast or warm up your bread (and cook pasta).

Toss all of the ingredients together to coat the shrimp and clams and throw into a large bowl (or if you are doing the pasta route, toss cooked pasta into sauce and serve in individual bowls). 

Serve with the crusty bread and lots of napkins.

Like I said, this recipe is totally open to interpretation and adjustment.

Add more/less meat if you like, more/less tomatoes if you like...etc., etc.

It is summer, have fun!!

Enjoy!