Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato

If there's one thing from Portugal that I like more than their wine, it's their seafood dishes.

One of our family favorites is Carne de Porco à Alentejana, a dish with pork and clams. But Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato is also a favorite. It has a simple, but wonderful buttery, garlic flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 pounds live clams in the shell (I used Littlenecks)

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil

• 8 Tablespoons butter

• 4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and diced

• juice from 1 organic lemon

• 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 organic lemon, quartered

• sliced baguette, toasted, for serving

Procedure

Scrub the clams under cold running water to remove sand or grit clinging to the shells. Throw out any that are open or those that do not stay closed when squeezed shut. Dry them off with a towel

In a large saucepan, with a lid, over medium heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Be careful that it doesn't burn.

Add the scrubbed and dried clams to the pan and cover. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally or stirring them with a spoon. If there are any clams that haven't opened, keep cooking for a minute or so. If there are some that just won't open, toss them out.

As soon as all of the clams are open, pour the lemon juice over them and stir to incorporate the lemon juice into the butter-olive oil mixture. Sprinkle in the cilantro and parsley. Add a few grinds of black pepper and stir again.

Spoon into serving bowls and ladle the sauce over the top. Serve with some sliced bread for sopping up the deliciousness left in the bottom of the bowls!