Baked Clams

Long before I actually grew to love and enjoy seafood there was baked clams. For some reason though I was adamantly against eating anything that came from the sea, you could hand me a baked clam, lots of lemon slices and I would just go to town. These days I will eat just about anything whether it be from land or sea. My husband and I have become quite the adventurous eaters and are pretty open to trying new things. Even still baked clams remain one of my favorite treats, they are like a comfort food to me of sorts paired best with a bowl of lobster bisque from my favorite fish market. 

Baked clams are a great, fancy looking dish you can whip up in mere minutes. They are make for an impressive appetizer or side dish and pair perfectly with a nice piece of steak. There are a lot of variations on baked clam recipes, I think mine is fairly basic but it tastes delicious. And don't skip on the addition of paprika, the spice really takes the dish to the next level.

Baked Clams

Yield: 2 large baked clams or 1/2 dozen small

Prep Time: 10 minutes     I     Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 can minced clams with juice
• 1/2 seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons + 1/4 cup white wine 
• 2 tablespoon butter melted
• 1 tablespoon grated cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. 

Set aside 1/4 of the white wine and then in a bowl combine all of the remaining ingredients mixing thoroughly. Spoon the filling into either real or aluminum clam shells filling them generously and assemble on a baking sheet. 

You can also opt at this point to stretch the recipe a bit by adding more breadcrumbs, white wine and lemon juice. The batter should be very wet but not loose or soupy.

Pour half of the remaining wine over the tops of the clams and then pour the rest directly onto the baking sheet. This will ensure that the baked clams don't dry out on you. 

Bake the clams for approximately 10 minutes or until the mixture is golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges.