Almejas al Ajillo

Clams are very easy and simple to cook, not to mention the fact that they take next to no time to form part of a delicious meal! Fresh clams are very low in calories and can be easy to find depending on where you live. Just ask your local fishmonger or supermarket regarding their freshness.

Ingredients

• 500g clams
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 large cloves of garlic
• 150ml of dry white wine
• ¼ slice bread
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Pinch of salt to taste

Serves 2 starter portions. 255kcal per portion

First of all give the clams a good wash in the sink and place in a bowl. The usual seafood rules apply. If they are open before cooking then give them a tap; if they close then they’re good to cook, but if they remain open then throw them away. Once cooked if they are open then they are good to eat, but if they are closed then throw them away; never attempt to open and eat a closed clam!

Secondly start heating the olive oil in a large pan on the hob. Coarsely chop the garlic and fry until golden. Add the clams and give them a good stir so they start heating up evenly. Ideally these should be on a medium heat.

Next, in a recipient such as a mortar, add the slice of bread (broken up), and a splash of wine. Mix with the pestle so it is of a relatively uniform consistency. Add the smoked paprika and then add this mixture together with the rest of the white wine to the clams. Once the wine is added the sauce should start to reduce immediately and the clams should start opening up. Add some water to the sauce if it looks like it is drying up or leave to reduce if it looks too runny. The consistency of the sauce should not be thick, but it should not be too runny like water either. Once the clams are open it means that they are done and they should not be cooked for too long after this happens.

Serve hot with some bread for mopping up the sauce.

Variations:This recipe can also be the base for a fabulous pasta dish. Simply boil some spaghetti or linguine and add to the clams in their sauce when they are aldente. Leave it to stand in the clams with the sauce for a few minutes and the pasta will soak up the remaining sauce while remaining hot. Seafood heaven!

Note: Clams are very low in calories. In fact, in the weight measurements, clams are weighed whole, but in the calorie measurement they are measured without the shell. So, in effect 100g of whole clams becomes more like 20g without the shells. So, at 50kcal per 100g of shelled clams it becomes very lean cuisine indeed! Also, go easy on the salt as the clams may have salt water in them anyway which they will spit out when cooked, therefore contributing to the saltiness of the dish. It’s always best to add salt at the very end.