Littleneck Clams with Green Garlic and Leftover Wine by Alison Roman

I started this project as a complete clam novice: how to cook them, how to eat them, the fact that there are different kinds of clams — I hadn't the slightest idea. I remember feeling very intimidated by the task of ordering them at the grocery seafood counter. Even more intimidating was the thought of cooking them. And then, after just one attempt, I realized that clams are perhaps the most foolproof seafood I could ever cook. 

As long as you’ve scrubbed their shells (they tend to have gunk stuck to the outside that will come off with a little handling under cold, running water), placed them in a hot pot with a lid and a bit of liquid to create steam, and can physically shake a pot back and forth a few times, clams are a piece of cake. (Cake is better than clams, tbh, but let’s not get into semantics.) 

The parsley butter took more work than the clams in this recipe. I already had my food processor on the counter from making green romesco for Alison’s four-bean salad, so I opted to use it for smashing the butter, parsley and garlic clove together. Some people have asked how I decided when to make certain recipes. One answer is laziness. “You mean I don’t have to dig out my food processor and clean it a second time?”

Once my clams were cleaned and ready, I started by sizzling a finely grated garlic clove in some olive oil in my Dutch oven. After it released its fragrance, I poured in some leftover Sav Blanc (and yes, this was like 6-day old wine from the fridge that honestly tasted just fine for this purpose.) Once the wine had reduced, I placed the clams in the pot and fit the lid so they could steam. I made just a half recipe, which reduced the wine needed to just two Tbsp. But even that little bit of wine was enough to cook the clams and infuse them with plenty of flavor. Once opened, the clams were ready for dollops of parsley butter. It took some coaxing to get the globs to land into each open shell. 

Pro tip: when removing hot clams from a pot, don’t be foolish. Wear an oven mitt or use tongs. You will burn your fingers otherwise. Just ask my thumb and forefinger. 

The remaining melted butter and clam juice provide a nice warming liquid for the can of cannelini beans added at the end. I served it all with lemon wedges and sourdough bread, along with a lemony kale salad. 

Jordan didn’t love this dish — he said it was too salty, which must have come from the clams themselves because I added very little salt myself. I felt that there was a bitterness to the dish, a sort of soft sourness that’s hard to describe otherwise. Maybe the wine was too far gone? Maybe this needed something creamy to balance the bitter? I think I’ll stick with Alison’s other clam recipes in the future, particularly her Clams and Cod in Heavy Cream (minus the cod - just the clams) and her Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts. 

214 recipes cooked, 11 to go.

Spring Seafood Stew with Peas, New Potatoes, and Tarragon by Alison Roman

It’s snowing furiously outside, sheets of snow flying sideways past the buildings of Chicago. It’s New Year’s Day, 2022. It’s most certainly not Spring. And I would far prefer to be watching the Harry Potter Reunion on HBO instead of writing an essay about seafood stew, but so it goes. 

[Okay, confession. I wrote the above sentences, and then decided to close my laptop and watch part of the HP Reunion. It was a great decision. It’s now January 2.]

I was most certainly not looking forward to making this stew. To eat one kind of seafood requires some self-convincing. To eat three kinds of seafood in one dish is almost impossible for me. This recipe calls for clams (mmm), cod (meh), and smoked trout (huh). I called an “audible” (a sports term I inherited through marriage, FYI) and skipped the smoked trout. While the cod turned out alright, it was a little fishy for my taste. Ultimately, I would have been most happy with this stew if it were just the veggies and the clams. But that’s just me! 

The stew comes together in a multi-step process. First, sauteeing the vegetables - celery, shallot, potato - until soft. The recipe calls for leeks, but I somehow missed it when creating my shopping list, so I made do with what I had on hand. Then white wine and bay leaves join and simmer until partially reduced. I poured seafood stock and water into the dutch oven and brought everything to a simmer, letting the potatoes start to fall apart, about 35 minutes. I will just note here that this was my first time purchasing seafood stock, and beforehand, I was nervous. I imagined a liquid that smelled like a fish tank. Well, I was wrong. I took one whiff of the open stock carton and hardly smelled a thing. Which gave me more confidence in what I was about to consume. 

I plopped my scrubbed clams into the simmering stew, along with a cup of frozen peas. Then placed the lid on and waited for the clams to open - about 12 minutes. The final step requires laying the pieces of cod into the broth while trying not to destroy their delicate flesh. I mostly succeeded. The pot’s lid returns once more so the cod can cook through. 

To serve, I ladled the stew into each bowl, followed by a dollop of crème fraiche and a mixture of parsley, tarragon, and lemon zest. I also warmed some slices of homemade sourdough bread for dipping. Just like Alison’s Clams with Cod and Cream (a v similar recipe, by the way) I would gladly count sourdough dipped in the broth as my dinner. 

A final word about “stew” vs. “chowder.” Alison’s recipe notes say that she waffled between whether to call this recipe a stew or a chowder, but ultimately decided there’s no difference before choosing “stew.” Jordan, Margaret, and I kindly, but firmly, disagree. In the words of Margaret: “I associate chowders with corn and seafood. To me, a chowder has to be creamy, usually through the addition of dairy, but sometimes can happen through other means (like maybe pureeing some portion of the chowder?). I’ve never heard of a beef chowder, for example.” If you have further thoughts on this stew v. chowder debate, feel free to comment below. 

199 recipes cooked, 26 to go.

Clams and Cod in Heavy Cream with Tiny Potatoes and Celery by Alison Roman

While we’re on the subject, I have to tell you a quick anecdotal story about cod. I’ve been in the earth-shattering play, Peter Pan, twice in my life. One time I played Tiger Lilly, and the other I played Peter himself. Playing Peter was a highlight of my childhood acting career. I mean, who doesn’t want to play a character that flies, sword fights, and sings the most solos? Towards the middle of the play, there’s a scene where Peter is hiding from Captain Hook and decides to play tricks on him. He starts shouting ominous things at Hook, who doesn’t know where the voice is coming from. Terrified, he starts asking Peter, or “the voice,” what kind of creature they are. A rock? A mineral? An animal? A… cod fish? If the person playing Hook likes comedy, they’ll put a lot of emphasis on the word “cod” and the audience will chuckle. It’s a human voice, duh! You think a cod fish could talk like that? Silly Hook. 

Never before have I purchased or cooked cod fish. This being my first time asking for a cod filet at the seafood counter, I had half a mind to answer the counter worker’s question, “how can I help you?” by saying, “A….coooddd fish?” Oh the things my better judgment keeps me from doing! Thankfully, I did not startle the gal at Mariano’s or the seafood counter person at Whole Foods. Mariano’s only carries clams on occasion, but WF sells them reliably. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this clam chowder-esque dish, and in fact, enjoyed it more than regular chowder. I appreciated that the broth stays separate from the vegetables and seafood. No mushy cod or soggy potatoes to be found. Instead, the potatoes are cooking in oil, along with the celery, before any liquid joins the pan, which gives them a crispy and browned exterior. The wine and cream are added next, then the clams. Once the clams open up, the cod joins the pot last. I covered the pot and let things simmer just until the cod was cooked through, about 5 minutes. Which means it barely had time to fall apart. Somehow, eating a fishy-tasting fish is much more delightful if I can see the bite of fish on my fork, instead of scooping it in mush form with my spoon. I don’t think I’m alone in this? 

The lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and sourdough bread for dipping completed this dish. I could honestly eat a full meal of just bread soaked in the broth. It had the perfect cream to acid ratio with a subtle heat kick at the end. The clams added a salty textural contrast that complemented the broth perfectly. Next time I could do without the cod. It added a fishiness that seemed to subtract, rather than add, enjoyment. However it did add substance. So pick your poison on that one. 

162 recipes cooked, 63 to go.

Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts by Alison Roman

And Alison does it again – completely exceeds my seafood expectations and makes me want to cook whatever crustacean she uses, again and again. I’ve never once thought clams were appetizing. I’ve never once craved them. Even after living in San Francisco for two years – home of the clam chowder & sourdough bread bowl – I avoided clams with gusto. 

With the same trepidation, I approached the seafood counter at Cub to order two pounds of littleneck clams. I watched the soft-spoken man behind the counter take his time adding clams to the scale, wishing I wasn’t spending $18 on the little guys. But alas, all for the project! 

First step was to toast the walnuts, whole, in the oven at 350. I find that it takes about 13 minutes to get a sufficient toasting, as opposed to the 8-10 minutes Alison suggests. Or it could just be my oven. Alison frequently asks for toasted nuts, and I capitalize on this by toasting more than called for so I can eat the rest as a snack! Once the nuts cooled, I could chop them into tiny nibs to make the gremolata. For those curious, Google says that gremolata is “a dressing or garnish made with chopped parsley, garlic, and grated lemon zest, served as an accompaniment to meat or fish.” And that’s exactly what I mixed with the walnuts: parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. 

Thirty minutes before dinnertime, I started cooking the chorizo, a task I always find annoying because it takes far too much effort to break up the meat in the skillet. Remind me next time to crumble it by hand before putting it in the pan. Meanwhile, I cooked the pasta (corn & brown rice pasta) in a pot of unsalted water. Once the chorizo was just browned through, I added another 4 cloves of minced garlic and let them get nicely aromatic. 

Quickly after, the clams were ready to join the fun. I placed the lid on the pan and shook it every 20 seconds for 3 minutes. That’s all it took for the clams to open and warm through. So easy! I added the cooked pasta straight from the pot with tongs, just as Alison suggested, along with over a cup of the pasta water. For the next 5 minutes, Madeline took over and vigorously shook the skillet as the starch in the pasta water formed a sauce that coated the noodles with briny, salty flavor. Many twists of black pepper later, and this was ready to serve. 

And wow, was it delicious. If you’re like me and you find clams intimidating, this is a great introductory recipe that will leave you unafraid and ready for more. It’s not at all fishy tasting, and the pasta and chorizo make it feel like a familiar dinner with a fun twist. The walnuts and parsley added a really nice textural variance, and added yet another flavor element to make things interesting. There were absolutely no leftovers. 

I got my courage to make this dish from 3 daring friends who wanted to try it with me. Sam, Madeline, and Jordan. And as is customary with this crew, this became another All-Out Alison Meal. I’ll deploy the other recipe essays through the rest of this week. 

103 recipes cooked, 122 to go.