Baked Stuffed Clams
By: dad1337
Published: Friday, February 13, 2015 - 11:02am

Ingredients




4 Tbs butter
2 medium onions diced
3 stalks celery finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic finely diced
2 tsp each salt & pepper
2 Tbs dried basil
2 Tbs dried parsley
4 thin slices ham chopped (appox 1-1½ cups)
4 oz chopped pimientos
½ cup white wine
4 Tbs Parmesan cheese + more for topping
1 -3 cups Italian style bread crumbs
4 cans chopped clams with ½ the juice reserved
Sliced lemon or lime

Preparation

1 This recipe will make over 2 dozen stuffed clam shells or about 9-10 filled scallop shells. 2 In a large sauté pan melt the butter, add the onions, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are wilted and the onions translucent. 3 Now add the ham , basil, parsley, pimientos and cook for about 2 -3 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine and remove from the heat. 4 Empty into a large bowl when slightly cooled add the Parmesan and clams and juice. 5 Slowly add the bread crumbs until you have no liquid visible and the mixture is still fairly moist. 6 Spoon into shells.  Sprinkle more Parmesan over the top of each.   At this point you can cover and refrigerate until needed. 7 Heat oven to 425º place the shells on a sheet pan in the center of the oven and bake 10 - 15 minutes until cheese on top is melted and clams are hot. 8 Serve with wedges of sliced lemon or lime.

About

These make a great appetizer, or serving a couple they make a nice dinner, and occasionally to make them truly elegant I top them with Hollandaise sauce for a decadent treat.  You can get fresh clams and open them yourself and save the shells to reuse, or use large scallop shells which are easier to find, or even place in ramekins, the choice is yours.
The amounts for the recipe are not written in stone.  If you want to add more garlic feel free, a little more basil OK!, less clam liquor perfectly fine, it's all about how the final dish tastes to you.  Remember there are no baked clam police lurking outside your kitchen door.