Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato

Portuguese Clams with Garlic, Coriander and Lemon

The cooking takes less time than laying the table: garlic softened in olive oil, clams thrown in, a lid, a shake, coriander and lemon. What you are really making is the sauce at the bottom of the pan, and the bread is not optional.

The dish carries the name of the poet Bulhão Pato. It is one of the standard small plates, or petiscos, of Lisbon's bars and seafood restaurants.

The two recipes read differ on one point. One opens the clams in white wine; the other uses only oil, garlic and coriander stalks and adds lemon at the end. This version uses a little wine and the lemon.

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 kg live small clams (palourdes or similar)
  • 60 ml olive oil (4 tbsp)
  • 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 100 ml dry white wine (vinho verde if you have it)
  • A bunch of coriander (about 30 g), stalks and leaves separated, both chopped
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges to serve
  • Crusty bread, to serve

Method

  1. Soak the clams Put the clams in a large bowl of cold water with 1 tbsp salt for 30 minutes so they release any sand. Lift them out, rinse, and throw away any with broken shells or that stay open when tapped.
  2. Cook the garlic Heat the oil in a wide pan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet. Do not let it brown.
  3. Open the clams Raise the heat to high. Add the clams, coriander stalks and wine, cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until the shells have opened. Throw away any that stay shut.
  4. Finish Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the coriander leaves and lemon juice and taste the sauce: the clams are salty, so it rarely needs more. Serve straight from the pan with bread and lemon wedges.

Food safety

Buy clams live and cook them the same day. Discard any with broken shells or that do not close when tapped before cooking, and any that have not opened after cooking.

Take the clams off the heat as soon as they open. Another minute and they turn rubbery.

More Portugal recipes