Portuguese cuisine offers a wealth of slow food options. Amêijoas em Vinho Verde, or Clams in Green Wine, is not a slow food option. Instead, Amêijoas em Vinho Verde is the perfect dish for those times when you need a delicious meal in ten minutes, so that you can return to your chaise lounge in the sunshine. I’m not joking about the ten minutes. Hurry – let’s get started!
Ingredients (Serves 4 – 6)
1 kilogram (about 2 1/4 pounds) fresh little neck or carpet shell clams in their shells
1/4 cup thinly sliced leeks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Portuguese vinho verde (or substitute your favorite crisp white wine)
2 tablespoons Portuguese olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
Sliced baguette
Directions
Layer all ingredients (except for the baguette) in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Start with the clams, then sprinkle with leeks and garlic. Drizzle with wine and then olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, and tuck in lemon wedges. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven until clams pop open – this will take 5 – 7 minutes. As soon as almost all of the clams have popped open, remove pan from the oven and discard any unopened shells.
Ladle clams along with some of the liquid in the bottom of the pan (delicious) into serving bowls, and serve with sliced baguette. Enjoy in the sunshine!
Crowded Earth Kitchen 