HARD-SHELL CLAMS WITH PARSLEY PESTO

Hard-Shell Clams with Parsley Pesto image

Provided by Mark Bittman

Categories easy, quick, appetizer, side dish

Time 20m

Yield 4 or more servings

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

2 cups parsley leaves (thin stems are O.K.), washed
Salt
1/2 clove garlic, more to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or lemon juice
2 dozen hardshell clams (littlenecks or cherrystones), washed and scrubbed

Steps:

Turn on broiler and put a large cast-iron skillet under it while you make parsley pesto. Combine parsley with a pinch of salt, garlic and about half the oil in a food processor or blender. Process, stopping to scrape down sides of container if necessary, and adding rest of oil gradually. Add vinegar or lemon juice, then a little water to thin mixture slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Carefully remove skillet from broiler, add clams to it and return to broiler. They should all open more or less at once, within 10 minutes; remove them as soon as they do to preserve their juices, and put on a plate. Dab each with parsley sauce and serve hot. (Any clams that do not open are safe to eat; open them with a dull knife, or continue to broil a few minutes longer.)

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 326, UnsaturatedFat 23 grams, Carbohydrate 5 grams, Fat 28 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 14 grams, SaturatedFat 4 grams, Sodium 540 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 0 grams