Clams Oreganata

By BlueSchmoo

Andiamo

Pancetta, onions and bell pepper can be minced in a food processor

Ingredients

• 1 lb Baby little neck clams
• 1 bottle clam juice
• 1/4 lb pancetta, minced
• 1/4 cup plain croutons
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• T Tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh
• 1 Tbsp fresh minced parsley or 1 tsp dried
• 1/4 cup Romano cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Steam clams in a pot by adding 1 cup of water, add ½ of the parsley, thyme, and all of the cayenne pepper, bring to a boil, cover tightly, remove from heat and let cool.
Take out clams and separate meat from their shells and juice, prep the shells by breaking in 1/2 creating 2 ½ shells and cleaning them.
Strain juice through a sieve to remove dirt and shell particles. Coarsely mince the clam meat and set aside.
In a large sauté pan heat olive oil, then add the onions, bell pepper and pancetta and sauté until soft, add minced clams, add reserved clam cooking liquid and add more parsley, thyme, salt & pepper to taste, let it simmer.
Seal croutons in a plastic zip bag and smash with a pot or mallet and crush to a smaller size (be careful not to smash into bread crumbs, leave some slightly larger bits to soak up juice) add the croutons to the clam mixture and stir to moisten, add 2 Tbsp of the Romano cheese.
Fill reserved clam shells with the clam/veggie/crouton mixture, place them in a heat proof skillet once you have all the shells filled, add the bottled clam juice to the pan and place the clams in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes, time may
vary check ½ way thru cooking, remove from oven plate up in a rimmed bowl and
garnish with add’l Romano cheese and parsley, serve with a crusty bread to absorb the juice Optional: hit with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice before serving