Cooking in quar can be so much more creative than normal because you have to make do with what you have, you can't shop for a specific recipe, and some things have got to be used before they go bad.
This dish was born out of a craving for clams and a bag of okra on its last leg.
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can butter beans (or cannellini or other white bean)
36 littleneck or cherrystone clams
1/2 lb okra
Lemon
Fennel seeds
Parsley
White wine
Dill
1 large shallot
1 small Spanish onion
7-8 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Method:
1. Begin by cleaning your clams and throwing away any cracked or dead ones, place then in a bowl of ice in the fridge, the top partially covered by a towel
2. Begin your sauce by slicing the shallots thinly and simmering with oil in a deep sauce pan or small dutch oven (make sure you have a lid!). Add garlic (coarsely chopped) and onion (sliced), stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the root end of the okra and slice each one into 3-4 half inch wagon wheels, add to onions. Cook about 20 minutes on medium heat, until okra is easily pierced with a fork tong.
4. While okra is cooking, add some fennel seeds, salt, pepper, a bit of lemon juice, and any other seasonings you wish.
5. When okra is ready, deglaze the pot with a quarter cup of white wine, then add in the butter beans, straining out most of the liquid from the can but not all.
*you can prep to this point and then turn off your pot and let it sit, only put in the clams when you are about 15 minutes from serving*
6. Set the pot over high heat, and wait for some bubbling in the liquid. When it is nice and hot, add in your clams gently, getting as close to a single layer as you can, but this not critical. Replace the lid and cook approx. 7-10 minutes. As the clams start to open, remove them from the pot.
7. While the clams are cooking, toast your bread. I realized morning of that I did not have any bread and so I made a quick and easy yeast bread that is not going to win any awards but was perfect for a dish like this.
8. Once all the clams are open (discard any that do not open), arrange them on top of your beans and okra, top with parsley and some more lemon.
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