Chef George Mendes grew up on the East Coast, but this son of Portuguese immigrants has retained his Iberian roots – especially his culinary ties. In his cookbook My Portugal, released this month, Mendes shares stories and recipes from his family as well as from his celebrated New York City restaurant Aldea.
I loved the introductory pages, filled with Mendes’ description of Portuguese cuisine and its quintessential dishes: “Portuguese home cooking is distinguished by its gutsy soulfulness, as in a warming casserole with eggs baked right into a smoky tomato and pea stew laced with savory sausage.” By the time Mendes finished waxing poetic over everything from caldo verde (a soup of puréed potato with spicy chorizo and tender collard greens) to refogado, a Portuguese soffrito, I was ready to hop on a flight to Lisbon. Among the 125 recipes in the cookbook, I salivated most over plates of fresh seafood, which is why I opted to prepare Clams Steamed with Vinho Verde, Garlic and Cilantro.
The recipe is delightfully uncomplicated. The ingredients are few – only littleneck clams, garlic, vinho verde (my hot weather wine of choice), a bay leaf, cilantro, olive oil and salt – and the technique is simple.
If you haven’t worked with clams before, soaking them in a bath of cold saltwater is an absolute must so they release their grit. Scrubbing the clams with a brush removes any remaining residue. Sandy beaches are beautiful to look at, but they taste awful.
The clams get tossed in the saucepan with hot oil, garlic and a bay leaf. The young white wine and cilantro are added, and the kitchen begins to fill with the fabulous aroma of a delicate sauce in the making. The fun comes from watching the clams slowly open, at which point you fish them one by one out of the saucepan.
Mendes directs the cook to strain the sauce into a serving bowl before folding in the clams and a handful of fresh cilantro. After tasting the strained sauce, I decided I wanted the softened garlic and the wilted cilantro back in the bowl. Maybe it looks less elegant, but that extra flavor is just too tasty to discard, especially when the dish is served with crusty bread to mop it all up. An indication of how much I enjoyed this quick (less than 30 minutes!) dish: I tucked a copy of the recipe into my prized recipe box.
George Mendes’ Clams Steamed with Vinho Verde, Garlic and Cilantro 2 servings
Kosher salt to taste
12 littleneck clams
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
2 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced crosswise
1 fresh bay leaf, notches torn every ½ inch
½ cup dry white vinho verde
2 sprigs plus ½ cup sliced fresh cilantro leaves
• Fill a bowl with cold water and dissolve enough salt in it to make it taste like the ocean. Submerge the clams in the water. Let them sit for 10 minutes or until they spit out their grit. You should see sand at the bottom of the bowl. Lift out the clams and transfer to a colander. With a stiff-bristled brush, scrub them vigorously until their shells are really clean.
• Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Coat the bottom with oil and add the garlic and bay leaf. Cook, stirring continuously, until very aromatic, bubbling, and golden, about 4 minutes.
• Add the clams and toss to coat in the mixture and get a sizzle going on them. Add the vinho verde and cilantro sprigs. Cover, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, shaking the pan frequently, until the clams start to open. The liquid should be boiling vigorously. Start pulling out the early birds that open first and transfer them to a dish. Cover the pan again and continue cooking and pulling until all the clams open. After 5 minutes more, any clams that don’t open are dead; throw them out.
• Discard the bay leaf and cilantro sprigs. Strain the sauce into a large serving bowl. Swirl in a little olive oil, then fold in the clams and sliced cilantro. Serve immediately with plenty of crusty bread.
Reprinted with permission from Stewart, Tabori & Chang What is your favorite way to prepare clams? Tell us in the comment section below for a chance to win a copy of My Portugal!
This article appears in September 2014.