2023 Vuelta España - Stage 16: Liencres Playa to Bejes.
Vaya a la playa y comida unas almejas…I think that’s right, but it’s been nearly 30 years since I had a Spanish class. The riders started on the Cantabrian coast, which sounds a bit more tranquil than my morning. Like the riders, I too was racing this morning, but against a bunch of slow-driving morons and horrible traffic. I ended up missing my train to Philadelphia and jumping on a much more expensive Acela and had to fork over a lot of clams to purchase the ticket. If only I had this pan full of clams, I’m sure the attendant would’ve let me ride for free. This is so tasty and comes together very fast, with only about 15 minutes of cooking time.
Clams and Beans with Cava from The Food of Spain, Claudia Roden
~35 little neck clams
Onion, diced fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
15 oz can of navy beans (or other small white bean), drained and rinsed
3/4 cup of Cava or other sparkling wine
Parsley, minced
Prepare the clams by scrubbing them under running water, and placing them in a bowl full of cold, salted water. Discard any clams that stay open or have cracked/broken shells. Place the bowl of clams in the refrigerator for an hour.
When the clams have soaked for the proper duration, sauté the onion in 3 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-low heat, seasoning with a pinch of salt and stirring occasionally.
Once the onions are translucent, stir in the garlic and cook for a minute, then add in the beans and cava, along with more salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Drain and rinse off the clams.
After a few minutes minutes of heating the beans, place the clams on top of the beans. Cover the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high.
After about 3 minutes, the clams will all pop open. Uncover, sprinkle on some parsley and serve.
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