CATAPLANA DE AMÊIJOAS - ( CLAM CATAPLANA )

NGRETIENTS:

Serves 4

1.5 Kg clams

100 ml of olive oil

300 g of fresh tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

150 g of onions

100 g of chouriço - type sausage salame

60 g cured ham

100 ml of dry white wine

1 bay leaf

1 bunch of parsley

Pepper and salt to taste

PREPARATION:

Wash the clams well in cold water. A few hours before cooking, cover them with sea water or, failing that, salted water. Peel the onion and chop it coarsely. Peel the garlic too and chop it finely. Bring a pan with the olive oil to the heat. Add the garlic, onion and bay leaf. Add the parsley. Fry gently. Add the white wine and reduce (simmer). Meanwhile, cut the ham into small pieces and leave to soak in cold water. Cut the chouriço in half-moon shapes. Remove the stalks from the tomatoes, scald them in boiling water and remove skins and seeds. Cut them into small cubes and place in the pan. Add the ham and the chouriço. Allow to stew for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the bunch of parsley and the bay leaf. Take the clams from the salt water and wash again in cold water. Take a Cataplana Dish to the heat and arrange a layer of the contents of the pan in it. Put the clams on this layer and them cover them with the rest of the pan contents. Put the cover on the Cataplana and cook gently on a low heat. After 5 minutes, stir the Cataplana and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes until the clams open.

Suggestion: Use large clams. Take the Cataplana Dish to the table and lift the lid just before serving.

(For those who cannot have a Portuguese Cataplana Dish, try to use a Wok with lid)

And now....Bom Apetite!