Portuguese Clams and Sausage Recipe

DALLAS - Chef David Leite learned to love Portuguese cooking from his grandmother and mother. He shared many of his favorite recipes in his cookbook – The New Portuguese Table.

Earlier this month, he came to Central Market in Dallas to make a delicious Portuguese dish and shared the recipe with Good Day.

Portuguese Clams and Sausage

Recipe from The New Portuguese Table by David Leite

These Portuguese clams and sausage are slowly cooked with chouriço, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and spices in a cataplana, the Portuguese precursor to the wok.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes 
Total Time: 35 minutes 

Equipment: Cataplana (optional)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces chouriço, linguiça, or dry-cured smoked Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch coins
• One thick slice presunto, Serrano ham, or prosciutto, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 medium yellow onions, cut lengthwise in half and sliced into thin half-moons
• 1 Turkish bay leaf
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• One (28-oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 4 pounds small clams, such as cockles, manila, butter, or littlenecks, scrubbed and rinsed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley leaves

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large cataplana or a pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Dump in the chouriço and presunto and cook, stirring occasionally, until touched with brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium, add the onions and bay leaf, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Stir in the tomatoes and any accumulated juice, the wine, and paprika. Discard any clams that feel heavy (which means they're full of sand), have broken shells, or don't close when tapped. Plonk the clams in the pot and turn the heat to high. If using a cataplana, lock it and cook 5 to 10 minutes, shaking occasionally, until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes. If using a Dutch oven, cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes.

Carry the cataplana or Dutch oven triumphantly to the table, making sure everyone's watching, and then release the lid (being careful of any steam). Bask in the applause. Toss out the bay leaf and any clams that refused to open. Season with a few grinds of pepper, shower with parsley, and ladle the stew into wide shallow bowls. Oh, and have a big bowl on hand for the shells.

Link: leitesculinaria.com/about-me