The Essential James Beard Cookbook (39 page)

Beard on … Clams

Mother thought clamming was a great sport and would arise at five in the morning when there was a good low tide, don her best alpaca bathing suit, and be off to the beach, equipped with a shovel and basket. She would meet a number of friends there, mostly men, for few women would bother to go clamming. I often went with her in later years, but my special joy at first was crabbing. The Dungeness used to hide in deep pools accessible at low tide, and if you wandered through with a rake you could trap a fair quantity. You had to be alert, though, and early, for everyone else wanted them, too.

Thus, we often went home with five dozen clams and six or eight crabs. If she was in the mood, Mother would clean a dozen or so clams and remove the diggers [
Editor: the tough part of the razor clam—the variety found in coastal Oregon—that it uses to dig a hole in the sand
], which she brushed with flour and sautéed quickly in butter. Most people cooked the whole clam. Mother was independent enough to think that only the diggers were fit to eat in this manner. The rest of the clam could be used for other dishes. Nowadays, alas, you are lucky if you can get the clams to sauté in their entirety. I am certain that if the razor clam existed in France, the recipes for them would be classic.

SCALLOPS SAUTÉ PROVENÇAL

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Editor: When you want a light supper in a hurry, this dish will fill the bill nicely.

2 pounds bay scallops

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¹
⁄
₃
cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Flour the scallops lightly just before cooking. Heat the oil in a skillet, preferably nonstick, over high heat. (You may have to use 2 skillets for this amount.) When the oil is quite hot, add the scallops. Cook for just a minute or so until the scallops lose their translucent look. Season with salt and pepper, add the garlic and parsley, and toss with the scallops. Cook for a moment longer. Serve at once.

SHELLFISH À LA NAGE

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

One of the best ways I know to cook shellfish is
à la nage
, the French term for a style of preparation in which shellfish are both cooked and served “swimming” in a white wine court bouillon and eaten hot, tepid, or cold. If you live in a part of the country where you can get freshwater crayfish, try this recipe with them; otherwise use large raw shrimp, or small lobsters (use the timing for
Boiled Lobsters
).

For the Court Bouillon

2 or 3 carrots

4 cups dry white wine

1 or 2 cups water

2 medium yellow onions, very thinly sliced

½ cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon kosher salt

4 whole black peppercorns

For the Shellfish

4 dozen crayfish or large shrimp, or 4 to 6 small lobsters

Melted butter, for serving

Lemon wedges, for serving

To make the court bouillon: With the tines of a fork or a channel knife, the little gadget that cuts thin strips from lemon rind, score the outside of the carrot and then slice it very thinly—the idea is that the slices will look like flowers and be more attractive in the plate than plain old carrot rounds. Put all the remaining court bouillon ingredients in a deep pot with the carrots and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

To cook the shellfish: Drop the crayfish in the court bouillon, reduce the heat, and cook for 10 minutes just at the boiling point—not a rolling boil. (If using shrimp, cook for 3 minutes. For lobster, see
here
for timing.) Using a slotted spoon or a wire skimmer, remove the shellfish at once and arrange in deep serving bowls or soup plates and ladle some of the aromatic court bouillon around them, with little bits of the carrots and onions. Sip the bouillon as you eat the shellfish. It’s a good idea to have some melted butter and lemon wedges to enhance the delicate flesh of the shellfish, which are shelled at the table by the diners.

Editor: Be sure to provide hot, moist napkins or hand towels to the guests for cleaning up after eating.

Steamed Clams

Clams are found in great variety along our shores. The two East Coast species are the
soft-shelled or long-necked clams
, usually steamed, and the hard-shelled, known in New England as
quahogs
, that come in three sizes: the largest used for chowder, the smaller littlenecks and cherrystones eaten raw on the half shell, broiled, baked, or added to seafood stews and similar dishes. On the West Coast one finds both
hard-shelled clams
and the
soft-shelled razor clams
of Oregon and Washington. The long, meaty razor clams are sautéed, deep-fried, scalloped, or made into chowder and fritters. All clams need to be scrubbed well and soaked in cold water to remove the sand outside and inside the shells. Raw clams—one of my dislikes—are best served very cold, on the half shell like oysters, with nothing but
lemon juice
and
freshly ground pepper
. Red cocktail sauce ruins the flavor. Steam clams in a large pot with a
half inch of water
or
dry white wine
, covered, over high heat, from 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally, until the shells open. Discard any in the pot whose shells remain closed. The resulting broth may be strained and sipped with the clams or used as the liquid for a seafood sauce. If you live near the shore, gather your own clams if possible—a sport I loved to indulge in as a child. Clams can be minced and used for fritters, quiches, or clam sauce for pasta. Canned minced clams are extremely good and may be substituted for fresh.

FRIED SHRIMP

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Deep-fried shrimp are one of the most popular dishes in this country. They can be sheer delight—crisp, tender, greaseless, and flavorful—or they can be a soggy mess. The secret of these fried shrimp is the lightness and crispness of the beer batter that encases them—the yeast in the beer has a leavening effect on the batter. Make the batter ahead of the time you plan to fry the shrimp and let it rest, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. This allows the ingredients to expand and amalgamate after the vigorous beating, and the batter will be crisper for it. Serve at once with either tartar sauce or Béarnaise Sauce, or merely with mayonnaise and wedges of lemon. These may be served as a first course, as a cocktail tidbit, or as a main course. For a main course, you could have coleslaw with them.

For the Shrimp

1½ pounds large shrimp, unpeeled

Tartar Sauce
,
Béarnaise Sauce
, or
Mayonnaise
and lemon wedges, for serving

For the Beer Batter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup lager beer, at room temperature

2 large eggs, separated

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Wash the shrimp very carefully and dry on paper towels. Take a pair of sharp scissors and cut along the curved back of the shell toward the tail, then break off the body shell with your finger, leaving the tail shell on. If visible, use the tip of the scissors to remove the dark vein running along the back of each shrimp. Cover the cleaned and shelled shrimp with plastic wrap until ready to deep-fry.

To make the batter: Put the flour in a bowl and add the beer, egg yolks, oil, salt, and a grind or two of pepper. Starting in the center, stir clockwise with a wire whisk until well mixed and free of lumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 1 to 2 hours. Then stir the batter. In a separate bowl beat the 2 egg whites with a wire whisk until stiff but not dry and very gently fold them into the batter.

To cook the shrimp: Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and put it near the stove. Pour enough oil to come halfway up the sides of a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over high heat to 375°F on a deep-frying thermometer.

Put the shrimp, one at a time, on a small ladle or large spoon and dip them into the batter so that they become completely coated, then lower them into the hot fat. Cook about 4 or 5, not more than 6, at a time—the batter expands in the fat and besides you don’t want to lower the temperature too much. It will take about 3 to 4 minutes for the shrimp to brown and cook through.

As the shrimp are fried, lift them out in the basket or with a flat mesh skimmer (which can also be used to skim any stray pieces of batter from the fat) and let them drain and keep warm on the baking sheet in the oven. Serve at once.

CHUCK’S BAKED SHRIMP

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

My friend Chuck Williams is a master at turning out a good dinner in next to no time. His baked shrimp are easy and quick and can be prepared well in advance, except for the final anointment of oil. Serve them with rice and a green salad. [
Editor: Williams is the founder of the granddaddy of kitchenware shops, Williams-Sonoma.
]

2 pounds large shrimp, unpeeled

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, or 1½ teaspoons dried tarragon soaked in 1 tablespoon dry white wine

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¹
⁄
₃
cup melted butter or olive oil

Split the shrimp down the back with scissors so they can almost be spread flat, butterfly fashion. Peel off the body shell, but leave the tail shell on. Remove the dark vein running down the back, if visible. Arrange the shrimp, tails up, in a lightly buttered round oven-to-table baking dish, and sprinkle with the tarragon, salt and pepper to taste, and enough butter or oil to moisten them. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes, or until just cooked through.

CIOPPINO

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

This marvelous fish soup-stew originated among the Italian and Portuguese fishermen of the California coast. Serve it in deep soup plates or bowls with forks and spoons and lots of French or Italian bread.

1 quart cherrystone or littleneck clams, scrubbed under cold running water

3 cups hearty red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Zinfandel (you can use 1 cup dry white wine for steaming the clams, if you wish)

½ cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

¼ pound dried mushrooms, such as porcini, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, and drained

4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1 sea bass or striped bass, about 3 pounds, cleaned, scaled, and cut crosswise into serving pieces, or 3 pounds thick skinless fish fillets, cut into serving pieces