There is a little bit of prep work involved before you can cook them. Clams should always be cooked alive and you should cook them the same day you buy them. Discard any clams with broken shells before you clean them. To clean them, place them in a medium bowl of clean, fresh water to soak for an hour. Because clams filter water through their systems, putting them in freshwater helps clear out the salt and sand that they store inside. Adding a few tablespoons of cornmeal to the water will help clean the clams more thoroughly. After they soak, rinse the clams with freshwater and scrub the outside shell. Now they are ready for cooking.
- If they aren’t open when cooked, add a few more minutes to the cook time.
- Once cooked, discard any clams that don’t open.
- Garlic, oil and white wine is the best liquid for steaming clams, in my opinion. If you prefer not to use wine, you can omit, there will still be plenty of liquid from the vegetables.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe.
Ingredients:
Reynolds Wrap Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
10 ounce 1 medium zucchini, cut 1-inch pieces
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic, sliced
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
20 littleneck or cherrystone clams
1 tablespoon dry white wine
crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Directions:
Tear off an 18” sheet of Heavy Duty foil.
- Center the food on the foil sheet.
- Bring up the long sides of the foil, so the ends meet over the food.
- Double fold the ends, leaving room for heat to circulate inside.
- Double fold the two short ends to seal the packet.
- Grill covered directly on the flame according to directions.
- To bake in the oven, preheat oven to 425F and cook until the shells open, 8 to 10 minutes.
