Steamed Clams with Ratatouille
Steamed Clams with Ratatouille
Clams with a French Twist
Serves 4
This recipe was created especially for 178 Degrees by acclaimed Kiwi chef, James Cornwall.
One of his favourite Cloudy Bay shellfish is the moon shell clam. Their flavour is unmistakable and in this recipe, he's paired them with sweet summer vegetables. You can also try this recipe with tuatua or diamond shell clams.
Ingredients
Ratatouille
  • 10 red cherry tomatoes
  • 10 yellow cherry tomatoes
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 eggplant, diced
  • 1 large red onion, chopped
  • 1 yellow capsicum, diced
  • 1 red capsicum, diced
  • 2 courgettes, diced
  • 1 Tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
Steamed clams
  • 2kg Cloudy Bay clams (moon shell, diamond shell or tuatua work equally well)
  • 200mL white wine
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 Tbsp torn fresh basil leaves, to serve
Method
Ratatouille
  1. Season red and yellow cherry tomatoes and lightly coat with olive oil. Bake in oven at 180ºC for 10 minutes or until lightly blistered.
  2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the eggplant. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  3. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the capsicum and courgettes, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Return the eggplant to the pan and stir in tomato purée. Add tomatoes, thyme and garlic.
  5. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the blistered tomatoes.
Steamed clams
  1. Heat large pot on a high heat.
  2. Add moon shell clams, white wine, olive oil, lemon juice and cover with lid.
  3. After about 4 minutes, the clams will start to open. At this point, remove the clams as they open and place into a large serving dish. This will prevent the clams from over-cooking and going chewy.
  4. Once all clams are cooked and in serving dish, cover them with hot ratatouille and garnish with freshly picked basil and olive oil. Serve hot with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.