A classic! One of my earlier cooking jobs was at on a boat serving high end continental cuisine... old school. We made clams oreganata and clams casino. I was the pantry cook &  opened a lot of fresh clams in those days!


Clams Casino

Baked clams are always best when the clams are opened freshly and filled.

Prep Time: 40 min

Cooking Time: 10 min

Yield: 4 portions


Ingredients      

                               

1/2 Cup       Bacon, chopped (about 4-5 slices)

¼  cup       Spanish Onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup       Green, Red, Yellow Bell Peppers, chopped fine

1 clove        Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp         Parmesan cheese, grated

2 tsp.           Italian Parsley, fresh (washed and chopped)

1 Tbsp.       Butter,lightly salted

1/2 tsp        Kosher Salt                                       

t.t.                Black pepper     

tt.                 Red pepper flakes                     

16 ea           Littleneck clams 

1/2 Cup.    Italian Breadcrumbs               


How to prepare Clams Casino

Step 1

Heat the bacon in a hot pan to begin crisping, add the peppers, onions and garlic; cook until tender. There is plenty of fat in the bacon to cook the vegetables, no need to add oil. Place the butter into a bowl, add the warm bacon and vegetables over the butter and stir to melt the butter. Add grated cheese, chopped parsley, salt and peppers. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Step 2

While the casino filling is cooling, open 16 clams on the half shell, being careful to reserve the clam juice; cut the muscle so the clam meat comes out easily.

You can also open the clams by placing on a sheet tray and baking for 2 minutes until the clams begin to open. Don't cook the clams...   just enough so they open a little-then using a clam knife, open them completely to stuff.

Step 3

Top each clam with a generous tbsp of filling and place onto a sheet tray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and place in preheated oven (350 F); bake until cooked, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!


note: some cooks chop the clams or use canned clams...  it's much better to use the whole clam for this recipe! You'll see.

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