Clams with chouriço, garlic and coriander

The cookbook Lisboeta features delicious recipes from Portugal’s capital. Clams, amêijoas in Portuguese, are a delicacy in Lisbon. Especially when combined with chouriço, garlic and coriander.

For this simple yet classic recipe, you need fresh, good-quality shellfish. The crispy pieces of chouriço (a dried Spanish sausage similar to chorizo) and the crunchy piece of bread for mopping up the juices make the dish complete.

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over low heat and fry the chouriço until crisp. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the coriander stems, clams and butter. Turn up the heat, cover the pan and leave it on the heat for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking occasionally, until the clams open (this will happen very quickly if the shells are thinner). Never leave clams on the heat for too long.

Discard any clams that remain closed. Remove the pan from the heat, add the coriander leaves, stir everything two or three times and cover the pan again. Place it on the table like this, and only then remove the lid. Serve with lemon wedges and, if desired, piri-piri oil. The dish is delicious when it is both sour and spicy.

Lisboeta
Nuno Mendes
Veltman Uitgevers
€30,-