Baked Parmesan Herbed Clams
Serves 4 as a Starter
You can assemble these little beauties hours in advance and bake them off when your guests arrive. That fellow travelers, is our secret... Now should your dinner guests seem to be insufferable bores who make you consider loosening up gun control laws, then excuse yourself to the kitchen to "Put together your Clam Dish"... needless to say safe with me.
Ingredients
24 Little Neck Clams shucked into a container with ½ the shells reserved...this is a job we would love to do for you at Metro... really
¼ cup of clam juice reserved from the opened clams
¾ cup of Panko breadcrumbs
¾ cup of finely grated parmesan Reggiano Cheese
½ cup of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
2 teaspoons of roughly chopped Thyme leaves
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of Olive oil, plus more to drizzle
Lemon wedges, to serve
How it's done
Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse the clam shells and lay them on a baking tray. Next, place the clam meat back into each shell...this is easy, no number matching required
In a small bowl combine the Panko, parmesan, parsley, oregano, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil and reserved ¼ cup of clam juice. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Next, spoon the bread-crumb mixture on top of the clams and drizzle generously with your best olive oil. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden. Serve with lemon wedges and the knowledge that if a dinner guest tells you the same story more than twice and you shoot them, most courts will let you off with a spirited slap on the wrist...if you kill them, a vigorous back rub.