Clams and Spicy Italian Sausage

 

Saturday afternoon we went to Chelsea Market, I love that place it’s such a cool place to go in the weekend because they always have something happening there, now they have this booth with 2 chefs explaining to people how to use some “tricky” produce. And they answer all your questions, anything related with cooking. I think its genius; I wish they had some classes too. The place smells amazing; the entrance smells like chocolate brownie from the “Fat Witch Bakery” they have the best chocolate powder in my opinion to make hot cocoa. Then the most delicious smells of freshly baked bread from Amy’s Bread Bakery. And you can see them while they are making the bread it’s really cool. At the back in front of the Food Network studio there is this really nice teashop with so many options it’s hard to decide. And of course the Lobster Place with loads of fresh looking seafood and fishes. That was when my hubby had the brilliant idea of cooking clams. I was like:

 Me – No, nooooooooo, no, no, no. I don’t know how to deal with living creatures. I don’t want to burn alive the poor things. And I have no clue how to cook that and I don’t like clams. I wish I did, because it looks luscious, but I don’t think I like them.

Him – Wait a minute you think you don’t like it? Did you try it?

Me – No, but must taste very fishy. And you know I don’t like fishy taste.

Him – Okay, we are definitely cooking clams tonight.

So he bought 12 littleneck clams and ½ pound of cockles. And the guy told me that they need to breathe, I was caring the poor things felling very, very sorry for them.

At home I searched for my fish book ” Fish without a doubt” which by the way I highly recommend with 250 simple seafood recipes and I found this recipe with sausage. So we cooked it and I LOVED IT… it didn’t taste fishy and the broth was delicious, we had that with Albarino wine (Albarino is primarily grown in the section of Galicia in northwestern Spain called Rias Baixas meaning “lower rivers.” In this location the cool climate allows the wines to exhibit freshness, fruit, and good acidity, and is finally bringing recognition to Spain as a producer of fine white wines. Many tasters have compared Albarino to a combination of sauvignon blanc and a very dry Riesling. It was the perfect addition to the clams. It was a really nice dinner, light and romantic, perfect for Saturday night. This experience made me rethinks some things I assumed I didn’t like; I will definitely try it before I say that (I don’t like it). 

Clams And Spicy Italian Sausage

• 3-tablespoon olive oil
• 1 link of spicy Italian sausage, casing removed and chopped
• 2 springs of thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 12 littleneck clams, scrubbed
• 1/3 cup of white wine
• ½ pound of cockles

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and sauté, stirring often, until the sausage is browned. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the clams pour in the wine and cover the pot. Cook shaking the pot often until the clams open (some just don’t want to open right away), so check periodically and remove the clams that are open and save in a bowl that way they don’t overcook.

Overcooked clams taste like rubber; we don’t want that, right? Finish with some chopped cilantro or parsley and serve in a wide shallow bowl with the pan juices. Make sure you have a nice bread to sop up the sauce.  Enjoy!