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    Saturday, August 18, 2012

    New Zealand Surf Clams from Cloudy Bay

    My friend Lana treated me to Al Brown's Master Class, at the Food Show in Auckland
    As it turned out he didn't do any cooking, but he did introduce us to some delicious
    Fresh Raw Seafood. Like these 3 freshly shucked Oysters.
    But the star of the Show was the Cloudy Bay Clams
    Al and his Sous Chef had shucked the clams for us and we ate them raw.

    We were luck enough to get a Goodie Bag and in it, was a voucher for 2 kgs of clams
    and a bottle of Al Browns Orange and Chili Oil
    I have used the oil several times. It has a wonderful flavour and got a good kick to it as well
    Lana meanwhile ordered her Clams, so she brought them around last night
    So what did we make? but of course!

    Spaghetti Alle Vongole or at least my version of it.
    Look at those succulent Clams aren't they divine.
    That was a kilo of Clams plenty for 4 of us
    Also Lana brought 2 dozen beautiful Bluff Oysters,
    I saved the liquor and added to my dish for that extra taste of the sea

    4 tablespoons of good olive oil
    6 cloves Garlic peeled and sliced
    1 tsp chili flakes
    Zest and juice of 1 lemon
    1/2 cup chopped parsley
    Freshly ground black pepper

    1 Kg Bag Blanched Cloudy Bay Clams
    1/2 cup White wine

    500 gms spaghetti
    Cooked in well salted boiling water till al dente
    Drain

    In a large pan gently saute Garlic and Chili.
    Don't let the garlic brown, it will become bitter
    Then add parsley and lemon zest

    Add hot spaghetti to the oil toss well
    Add lemon juice and black pepper
    Set aside

    Heat another pot till "smokin'"
    Throw in Clams
    When you hear the sizzle add the white wine
    Put lid on the pan
    Shake and leave til they begin to open
    This took about 3-4 minutes
    As they open remove them and set aside
    Reserve liquor

    Add liquor to spaghetti
    Taste 
    The liquor is fairly salty so it should be enough to season the dish
    But add more salt if you need to

    Pour into a big bowl and lay
    cooked Clams on top

    Sprinkle with a some extra parsley and drizzle over some extra Virgin Olive Oil

    Guaranteed divine
    So it's thanks to Lana.
    Thanks to Al Brown
    and Thanks to Cloudy Bay Clams you were delicious
    Lana and I, taken just a few years ago at Dijon Station part of a 3 week tour of US and Europe
    Lots of eating and drinking of course

    5 comments:

    Alessandra said...

    See you at the NZFBA conference Gillian!

    Ciao
    Alessandra

    Moon Over Martinborough said...

    I'm not the biggest fan of clams, but those clams look seriously good!

    Make-do Mum said...

    Lovely blog! It was nice meeting you at the conference!

    So So Simple said...

    Thanks it was such an inspiring conference. Great fun

    So So Simple said...

    Jared they are really good. I have a kg of blanched ones in my fridge awaiting eating.
    Alessandra sorry I didn't answer you. It was great to meet at the conference.
    Wasn't it fun