Clams in a Coconut Green Curry Broth

 

Ross and I have decided to make a conscious effort to eat more seafood.  One frustration with living in the midwest is the lack of fresh, coastal seafood.  In Hawaii we were quite spoiled. This effort probably won't be cheap.

But if we try to spoil ourselves on a seafood dinner at home, we are less likely to splurge on a fancy dinner out were that farm raised Atlantic salmon fillet is likely to cost 3 to 4 times more than a much more beautiful, healthful and sustainable fillet of wild caught coho or sockeye salmon. 

So this past Valentines Day, we ate in.  And we ate well.  There was not nearly enough bread or rice to sop up this amazing curry broth.  I suspect mussels would be equally as divine.

In an ideal world, I would have crafted the curry paste myself, but due to growing pains down south, the produce within our snow covered state has been limp, lackluster and outright sparse.  Surprisingly no fresh cilantro or basil was to be found right before our planned dinner.  Rather than run around with fingers crossed, we hedged our bets and picked up a jar of Thai Kitchen green curry paste.  My previous experience with this particular brand and the quality of their curry paste has been lukewarm at best.  This time, I had absolutely no complaints.  

adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon

serves 3

The Ingredients:
3 Tbs olive oil
4-5 Tbsp green curry paste
2 small shallots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp lemongrass, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 cup clam juice
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 lbs manilla or little neck clams

Garnish
1 lime, cut into wedges
lime zest
1 serrano pepper, sliced into thin coins

The Process
Place the clams in a large bowl and fill with cool water until the clams are fully submerged.  Allow them to rest for 30 minutes to an hour to encourage them to filter out any sand and grit.  Gently remove each clam one at a time and scrub away any grit on the outside of the shell.  Set aside until the broth is ready.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.  Add the curry paste, shallots, garlic, ginger and lemongrass and saute until fragrant, 2-3 minutes.   

Add the tomatoes, lime juice and sugar to the skillet and stir until well combined, about another 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and clam juice, whisking to break up and lumps in the cocnut milk.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the clams, cover and reduce heat.  Simmer the calms for 5-7 minutes or until most of the shells have opened.  Discard any unopened clams. 

Garnish with lime wedges, zest and Serrano peppers.  Serve with plenty of bread to sop up the broth.