5 lbs. fresh, little neck clams could yield 4 dozen depending on size and discards, cleaned, scrubbed and sand removed as outlined in blogpost
POACHING LIQUID
water, 1 cup white wine, a few whole garlic cloves, a bay leaf and a small bunch of parsley, just enough to cover the clams.
FILLING
2 cups homemade or good quality bread crumbs
4 tablespoons each of unsalted butter and olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
3 or 4 garlic cloves grated on a microplane
a handful of chopped parsley
½ cup of grated pecorino romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste
lemon for garnish
hot sauce optional
bottled clam juice and a little wine for liquid at the bottom of the pan, (optional).
Instructions
Clean clams according to step by step on blog post
Steam clams as stated in step by step on post.
Prepare the half shells as pictured in post for a visual.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and olive oil together.
Stir in grated garlic and simmer until it's infused but not golden or dark.
In a bowl add the breadcrumbs, zest, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, mix together then pour in the melted oil/butter with garlic mixture and stir together until it looks like wet sand, if too dry add more melted butter and olive oil.
Fill each half shell with a heaping teaspoon of the stuffing mixture and place them onto a foil lined sheet pan.
Drizzle the tops with olive oil and place into a pre-heated 450 degree oven for around 8 minutes, you cqn add. some clam juice, white wine and a little butter to the bottom of the pan as well, it's optional.
They should be medium golden brown when finished, also nice and crispy.
Serve immediately with lemon slices and hot sauce on the side.
Recipe by Proud Italian Cook at https://www.prouditaliancook.com/2019/12/perfect-baked-stuffed-clams.html