Growing
up in an Italian family meant that you had a lot of aunts and uncles, most of
which were not even relatives. Growing
up I had two special people in my life, my Uncle Joe and Aunt Laura. They owned a fish store in Long Island that I
loved to visit. One of my finest
memories is when Aunt Laura taught me to make baked stuffed clams. Now, mind you, she made 25 pounds at a time
and never measured anything. It took a
lot of trial and error to scale down this recipe and actually figure out how
much of each ingredient to put in. Once
my mother and I learned to make these, we have had baked stuffed clams every
Christmas Eve celebration.
 |
| Baked Stuffed Clams |
Makes 8-12 clams
I 6.5oz
can Chopped Clams (drain and reserve juice)
¼
C Plain Breadcrumbs
¼
C Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
1
TBS fresh or 1 tsp dried Parsley
5
grinds of freshly grated Black Pepper
1 tsp
chopped Garlic
1
TBS Olive Oil
4
tsp reserved Clam Juice
Paprika
1 Lemon
(cut into wedges)
12
Clean Clam Shells *
Preheat
the oven to 375 degrees F. Drain the can
of chopped clams and save the clam juice. Mix the clams through the olive oil
in a bowl. Add 4 teaspoons of the
reserved clam juice. If the mixture is dry, add more of the reserved clam juice
until it holds together. Put 1-2 tablespoons
of the mixture in clean clam shells.
Sprinkle paprika over top of the filled clams. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve
immediately with lemon wedges on the side.
Note:
Clams can be prepared ahead of time, covered in plastic wrap, and refrigerated
overnight. Increase cooking time to 20 minutes if the clams are cold.
* Pronto Substitutes
Clam Shells – When I don’t have any clam
shells I use small oven proof dishes that I purchased at a Chinese market that
are supposed to be used as personal condiment dishes for things like soy sauce.
Mushrooms – This stuffing can be placed in
mushroom caps and cooked as directed in this recipe.
DEAR NICK, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER ME, BUT TERI AND I (CHRISTI) WERE GRANDPA FORTUNATO'S GRAND DAUGHTERS(LEE AND TONY LIOY'S KIDS) I REMEMBER YOU AND CECI COMING TO EASTCHESTER TO GRANDPA SAM FORTUNATO'S ON SUNDAYS WITH YOUR MOM AND DAD FOR SOME GOOD TIMES. UNCLE JACK FORTUNATO HAS BEEN FORWARDING ME YOUR BLOGS WHICH I HAVE ENJOYED READING AND REMINISSING ABOUT...AND I FELT I SHOULD SAY "THANKS" FOR SHARING. MY MOM AND DAD BOTH RECENTLY PASSED AWAY (MOM ON 4/10/11 AND DAD ON 10/17/11) SO THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WILL BE ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK - WOULD LOVE TO GET A COPY OF YOUR COOKBOOK, AS I REMEMBER YOUR MOM THERESA AS A GREAT COOK :D LOVE, CHRISTI
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, one of my fondest memories was going to "Uncle" Sams house on Sundays. There would always be lots of food and family to share it with. I so miss those Sundays. You never realize how important family is until they are no longer there and this is especially true of my cousin, Sam Fortunato, and his family. The Fortunatos will always be at my table in spirit each and every Sunday.
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