Clams on the Grill with Herbed-Citrus Sauce
Serves 6-8
This is a perfect appetizer, cocktail tidbit or snack. Grilling clams is quick to do while chatting with guests. Served topped with a light, refreshing herb sauce, there is nothing more elegant or easy to do. These clams would be a wonderful way to end an afternoon’s reading of one of the books of the sea, or a grand cap to a good beach read. If clams are not available, mussels would work just fine. This is a light repast to tide one over till dinner, or to begin one.
3 to 4 dozen clams, well scrubbed
Herbed-Citrus Sauce:
2 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup chopped scallions with some green part
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cups extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup champagne vinegar
Coarse salt to taste
Preheat the grill on high.
Place the clams on the grill with the flatter side up. This will help hold the juices in the rounder shell side as the clams open from the heat. Grill for about 4 minutes or until the clams open. As they open, remove the clams from the grill, dollop with a bit of the sauce, and eat them hot, straight from the shell.
From “A Reader’s Cookbook” by Judith Choate – learn more at http://redrockpress.com/delicious.html#readersCookbook
Noted recipe and restaurant consultant Judith Choate is a three-time James Beard award winner. She is the author or coauthor of many highly-praised cookbooks. Her collaborators include chocolate-maker Jacques Torres, and such celebrated chefs as Charlie Trotter, David Burke, Charlie Palmer and Michael McCarty. A renowned home cook, her solo titles include “Great American Pie Book,” “Raji Cuisine,” “Fundamentals of French Cooking” and “Homemade.” Her latest book is the upcoming “The Best Little Book of Preserves & Pickles.” She and her husband, photographer Steve Poole, live in New York City. The parents of two and the grandparents of three, they’re composing a book about cooking as a family.
