Chile Lime Clams With Tomatoes And Grilled Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium, indirect heat (for a gas grill, leave one or two burners off; for a charcoal grill, bank coals on one side of grill). Place a large cast-iron skillet on grill over direct heat (move it around to cooler part of grill as you cook if needed) and melt 4 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until paste darkens to a rich brick-red color, about 1 minute. Add beer and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until beer is reduced nearly by half and no longer smells boozy, about 4 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and sambal oelek, then add clams. Cover (if you don't have a lid that fits, use a sheet of foil) and cook, stirring occasionally, until clams have opened; this could take from 5-10 minutes depending on size of clams and the heat level. Remove from heat; discard any clams that don't open. Stir in lime juice and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter.
• While the clams are cooking on the grill, drizzle bread with oil and season lightly with salt. Grill until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes per side.
• Transfer toast to plates and spoon clam mixture over; top with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

Steps:

• For the Tomato Conserva
• Core the tomatoes and roughly chop them. Pile into a large pot, preferably one with a wide surface, which will speed up cooking. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce the heat to medium or whatever temperature keeps the tomatoes simmering (you need to be careful not to scorch the tomatoes on the bottom) and cook until you've got the consistency of tomato sauce, 30 to 50 minutes. Work the tomatoes through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. If you don't have a food mill, you can do this by pressing the tomatoes through a fine-mesh sieve or very fine colander, but a food mill makes the job much easier.Heat the oven to 300°F. Oil a rimmed baking sheet (a 13 x 18-inch half-sheet pan or two smaller pans), a couple of 9 x 13-inch baking dishes, or a large Dutch oven.Add the conserva and bake until the consistency goes from liquidy to a thick puree, about 3 hours. You'll need to tend to the conserva several times during cooking because the tomato close to the edges will brown more quickly. Use a heatproof silicone spatula to move the tomato from the edges of the pans into the center (and vice versa) to promote even cooking and create deep flavors.Reduce the heat to 200°F and bake slowly for as long as you can, even overnight. You won't need to give the conserva as much attention at this point, but you should check it now and then anyway. The finished conserva should be very thick, like tomato paste, and deeply tomatoey. You can freeze in small freezer bags, or put into jars and refrigerate, or even can in a pressure-canner (follow the instructions in a good canning manual).
• For the Dish
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the garlic and cook slowly to toast the garlic so it's very soft, fragrant, and nicely golden brown-but not burnt-about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomato conserva and cook for another 30 seconds or so, stirring and scraping so the tomato doesn't burn but does get a bit darker. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, until they start to get fragrant and soft, another minute or so.Add the tomatoes, chile flakes, and butter, and season generously with salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring the tomatoes occasionally, until they start to burst and render their juices, another 3 to 4 minutes.Add the clams and wine, cover the pan, and cook until the clams all open; this could take as little as 2 minutes or up to 6 minutes, depending on the size and type of clams. When the clams are open (toss out any that refuse to open even after another couple of minutes cooking), add the parsley, corn, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the sauce with more salt, black pepper, chile flakes, or lemon juice.Arrange the grilled bread on plates or in shallow bowls and spoon the corn and clams over the top, dividing the juices evenly, too. Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil, and serve with a knife and fork, and a bowl for empty shells.