Clam Toasts With Pancetta Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, 5-7 minutes. Add sliced garlic and cook, stirring often, until garlic is golden around the edges, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and add sweet onion and chopped fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and onion is translucent, 6-8 minutes. Add lemon zest, bay leaf, ground fennel,1/2 cup wine and a pinch of salt. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is mostly reduced but mixture is still a little bit saucy, about 3 minutes. Transfer soffritto to a medium bowl; discard lemon zest and bay leaf. Wipe out skillet.
• Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium. Arrange bread slices in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Cut 1 garlic clove in half and rub one side of each toast with cut side of garlic. Wipe out skillet.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium. Crush remaining garlic clove with the side of a chef's knife and cook, stirring often, until it begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add clams, soffritto, and remaining 1/2 cup wine. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by half and clams are open (discard any that do not open), 5-7 minutes. Add parsley and fennel fronds and cook 1 minute longer. Taste and season with salt if needed.
• To serve, place fried bread on plates and spoon clam mixture and cooking broth over. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
• Do Ahead
• Soffritto can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

Steps:

• Preferably using a natural bristle kitchen scrubber (a brand new kitchen sponge will work as well), scrub the clams well under running water. After the clams have been scrubbed and scrubbed again, let them hang out in a large bowl of cold water. This will allow any residual sediment or grit to free itself from the shells and settle at the bottom of the bowl while you do everything else.
• Heat oil, butter and chorizo or other pork product, if using, in a large pot (make sure it has a lid) over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot occasionally until the butter has started to brown a little and the fat has begun to render from the pork, 3 to 4 minutes. (The pork won't be crispy, but that's O.K.; you're not looking for that.)
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring a minute or two until it begins to take on a toasty, light golden-brown color. Add wine and cook, letting it simmer until it's a little more than halfway reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Add celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the celery is bright green and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add clams and shake the pot so they settle nicely. Place the lid on the pot and give it the occasional shake, letting them steam open and release their juices, 3 to 5 minutes. (Larger clams will take longer.) The shaking of the pot is not only fun to do, but it gives all the clams quality time with the hottest part of the pot, which will encourage them to open around the same time, although there's always one or two clams late to the party. If there's one that just never makes it to the party (as in, it never opens), it's dead and should be thrown away.
• Toss the parsley, chives and celery leaves in a small bowl, then add lemon or lime zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve the clams with a hunk of crusty fresh bread or thick slices of toast that have been drizzled with lots of olive oil and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic, scattering the parsley mixture over everything.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook 3 minutes, until golden brown. Add scallions, clams and the vermouth (if using) and simmer 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until shells open. Discard any shells that do not open.
• With a slotted spoon, remove clams from pan and set aside. Simmer 2 minutes until sauce thickens. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Serve 1/2 of the clams (24 to 36) over rice and cover with thickened sauce. Top with parsley and serve with the Garlic Toast. Reserve the remaining clams (about 2 dozen) for fettuccine, if desired.
• Cut the baguette into 1-inch thick slices. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle some olive oil over them. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and crispy. While still warm, rub the garlic clove on the toasts.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs for al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until browned, 1 minute. Add the pancetta and anchovies and cook, stirring, until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the clams, then stir in the wine. Cover and cook over high heat until the clams open, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the clams to a large bowl (discard any clams that do not open). Cover to keep warm.
• Add the chicken broth to the skillet and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the pasta to the skillet along with 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water. Simmer, tossing, until the pasta is well coated and the sauce thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more cooking water to loosen, if needed. Stir in the clams and any juices. Add the parsley, red pepper flakes and lemon juice; season with salt. Divide among bowls.

Steps:

• Scrub clams well in fresh water to remove debris. Discard any open clams. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, saute garlic, onion, crushed red pepper and pancetta in butter. Stir in wine and bring to a boil. Add clams and boil, covered, 7-8 min. Discard any clams that do not open after 9 min. Season to taste with fresh ground pepper. Serve with toasted foccaccia or crusty baguette.