Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg live clams (amêijoas or vongole)
• 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves
• 50 g fresh coriander
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 1 lemon
• 1 heaped tbsp coarse salt, for purging
• Black pepper, to taste
• Crusty bread, to serve

Before you cook

• Tip the clams into a bowl of cold water with the coarse salt and leave them for one hour to spit out their sand.
• Lift the clams out of the water with your hands rather than pouring them, so the grit stays behind.
• Rinse the clams under cold running water and throw away any that are cracked or that stay open when tapped.
• Slice the garlic thinly and chop the coriander roughly.
• Cut the lemon in half, then cut one half into wedges for the table.

Steps

1. Warm the olive oil in a wide pan with a lid over medium-low heat.
2. Add the sliced garlic and cook it for two minutes, until it smells sweet and is just turning pale gold at the edges.
3. Stir in half the chopped coriander and let it wilt for ten seconds.
4. Tip in the drained clams and turn the heat to high.
5. Pour in the white wine and clamp the lid on straight away.
6. Cook for four to five minutes, shaking the pan hard twice so the clams swap places.
7. Lift the lid and check that almost all the clams have opened.
8. Give any stubborn ones one more minute with the lid back on, then discard any that still refuse to open.
9. Take the pan off the heat and scatter over the rest of the coriander.
10. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon half and swirl the pan so the sauce comes together.
11. Grind over black pepper and taste the juices before adding any salt, since the clams may have salted them enough already.
12. Tip everything, juices included, into a warm shallow bowl.
13. Serve at once with the lemon wedges and thick slices of bread for the sauce.