After our wonderful trip to the Olympic Bay Tidelands, we ended up with a whole bunch of clams to use up. I quickly figured out exactly what I wanted to make with them.

I decided on three separate recipes: Clam Chowder (obviously… jeez), a clam pasta and a clam pizza. I wanted to make the pizza a bit like the wonderful one at Tom Douglas’ Serious Pie. Pasta was kind of a no brainer for me since I love to make the stuff lately.

We had a total draw of 80 clams (the limit for the two of us, per day). I split off 40 of those for the chowder and roughly split the rest between the pasta and pizza dishes, with a little more going towards the pasta.

I decided to make the first meal the pasta. That way the clams would be at their freshest. The other dishes had a bit more flavor and ingredients to mask the seafood if they weren’t as fresh.

Obviously, you don’t have to roll out the pasta on your own. Just use any long pasta like linguine. If you want to give it a shot though (and I really recommend that you try), check out Saveur’s tagliatelle recipe. It is my go to dough. If you don’t have a pasta roller, you can use a rolling pin the old fashioned way.

Clam Pasta with Chive and Basil Pesto

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything
Serves 4 to 6

General Ingredients

• 1 lb pasta
• 3 lbs littleneck or manilla clams
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 pinch of chili flakes, to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan)
• salt and pepper

Pesto Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh basil
• 1/2 cup of chopped chives
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Start a pot of boiling, salted water to cook the pasta in.

To make the pesto, combine all the ingredients in a food processor, blender or mortar and pestle with half of the oil.  Grind everything down , making sure to scrape down the sides so everything gets incorporated. Add the rest of the oil slowly until you get the pesto as thick as you prefer it.

Place 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the clams and cook until the first few open up. This typically takes 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cover the skillet for a minute. Take the cover back off and stir for 3 minutes, until the rest of the clams open up (there may be a few left unopened). Cover the clams again and turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta and drain, but save about a cup of the cooking water. Leave the pasta slightly undercooked by a minute or so. It should be tender, but not quite finished.

Add salt and pepper to the clams to taste, then pour the rest of the olive oil (2 tbsp) into the skillet. Turn the heat back on to medium and add the pasta. Cooked and stir everything together until the pasta finishes cooking in the oil. Add the reserved water as necessary. It is always a good idea to add at least a little bit.

Stir in the parsley and serve.

Clam and Bacon Pizza

Ingredients

• Use your favorite pizza dough recipe
• 20 littleneck or manilla clams
• 4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped into 1/2 inch strips
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• A bit of semolina flour or cornmeal to transfer the dough to the stone with.

Preheat your oven with a pizza stone  in the middle at maximum temperature (probably around 500) for an hour.

Bring a cup of water to a boil in a small pot. Cook clams, covered for about 5 minutes. Take them out as they open. Discard any that aren’t open after about 8 minutes. Remove them from their shells and give a rough chop.

Mix olive oil and garlic together in a small bowl. Add a bit of the bacon fat to the mix if you are feeling frisky.

Slap out your dough into a rough circle and place on a pizza peel that is lightly dusted with cornmeal. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes. Slide dough from peel on stone and close the oven as quickly as possible so not too much heat escapes. Cook for 1 minute and pull the dough back out.

Spread the olive oil mix on the dough about 1/2 an inch to the edge. Sprinkle the clams and bacon over the top and finish with the grated cheese. Place back in the oven (with the broiler still on) for 1 to 2 minutes. Your oven time may vary, so keep an eye on it.

Top with parsley and enjoy.