newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MARGARET MORGAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Forget Emeril Lagasse or Rachael Ray. When it comes to scouring the earth in search of a new recipe, Margaret Morgan knows her stuff and got the following Portuguese recipe from a restaurant in Estoril, Portugal.

Amêjoas na Cataplana translated means clams in a cataplana pot. Cataplana is a Portuguese seafood dish, popular on the country's Algarve coast. It is also the name of the special cookware used to prepare the dish, which is traditionally made of copper and shaped like two clamshells hinged at one end and able to be sealed using a clamp on either side of the assembly.

When tightly sealed, the clams (littlenecks are preferable) are steam cooked to perfection and infused with the flavors of the tomatoes, herbs, spices, sausage and ham.

Served with a steaming bowl of rice and crusty bread to soak up the broth, it is perfection on a cold, wintry night.

Amêjoas na Cataplana

Ingredients:

• Three onions sliced thinly into rounds
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. crushed hot red pepper
• One medium chorizo sausage, diced
• Tbsp. prosciutto or ham, diced
• Two tomatoes peeled and seeded
• One bay leaf
• 1 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 oz. dry white wine
• 3½ dozen littleneck clams

Preparation:

1. In a cataplana dish (casserole with a tight lid or a wok may be used), saute onion in oil until translucent. Add paprika, red pepper, chorizo, prosciutto and mix. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, parsley, garlic and wine.
2. Cook to reduce liquid by one third. Arrange the clams in the pot, cover tightly and reduce heat. Cook 8-10 minutes or until all clams are open (Throw out any clams that do not open).
3. Serve in deep-dish bowls and spoon sauce over all clams. Serves four.

Margaret Morgan is a freelance writer for design publications and is the Shore Region Food Examiner and many of her articles appear on Examiner.com. Visit her website at TastefulLiving.net or contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .