Clams in White Wine Sauce

Clams are perfect when gently cooked in white wine. Fast and easy to do and super tasty. You can also do the same with Mussels and the same recipe works great. What I enjoy the most is dipping a piece of rustic bread like a baguette into the warm clam, lemon and wine sauce, generates a burst of flavor in your mouth. Be sure to have this with the wine you use to cook the clams.

Very popular in Belgium and France served as Moules et Frite (Mussels with Fries) and in Italy the clams with the wine sauce are served on spaghetti.  I ate this for the first time in Bruges, Belgium and fell for it and have been making it ever since I got back home. 

Key Tips

1. Use a good wine! Use the one you want to drink with this dish. I would recommend a zesty acidic wine like a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio with this one. 
2. Clean the Clams or Mussels thoroughly otherwise you’ll end up with them spitting out the sand in your delicious sauce

Cleaning the Clams

After this I move the clams one by one into another container of fresh water, discarding the broken or open fellas out. Test by tapping on the clams. If alive it will close. The open and cracked clams are dead, toss these out. Let it sit another 10-15 mins to get rid of the saltiness from the salt water and any remaining sand.

Dump all the clams in a large pot of water with a couple of tablespoons of sea salt. Let the clams sit in it for about 30 mins. The clams will relax and start slowing opening a little and they will spit out any sand inside. This step is important as if you don’t do this, you will likely end up with sand in your sauce.

If you are using Mussels:  In addition to the steps above it is important and you pick them out one by one to pull out the beard of the mussels. I’d highly recommend wearing a pair of rubber cleaning gloves, these strands are sharp and I have ended up with cuts on my fingers many times! 

Components of the Clams in White Wine Sauce

Clams cook really fast, so be sure you have all of these next to you on the counter before you begin. You will need the following:

• Clams about 3lbs, 30-32 in count
• 3 cups Dry White Wine, Good quality Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
• Shallots, 2 tbsp very finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed & then finely chopped
• 1 lemon
• 2-3 tbsp of finely chopped Parsley

Steps to make Clams in White Wine Sauce

1. Clean the clams or mussels following the cleaning method described above.
2. In a large sauté pan, big enough to hold all the clams, sauté the finely chopped shallots in 2 tbsp. of butter until translucent. You do not want it to brown. It should take about 3-4 mins.
3. Add the finely chopped garlic and fry for 1-2 mins
4. Add the 3 cups of the wine to the pan. Simmer until the wine reduces in half.
5. Season with salt and pepper
6. Cut the lemon into quarters and add 2 of them to the pan.
7. Add the cleaned clams to the pan. Cover and cook for 3-4 mins.
8. Within a couple of minutes the clams will start opening up. Wait for all of them to open up. 
9. The clams will release their juice into the pan, which combined with the wine will make a tasty sauce. Simmer the juices for a couple more mins without the lid.
10. Sprinkle fine chopped parsley to the pan and it’s ready. If you like a bit of heat, you can add a pinch or 2 of red pepper flakes to it at this time.

Serve it with a rustic baguette and the remaining 2 quarters of lemon. Be sure to dip the baguette into the sauce and enjoy!