Good evening all! I hope you are ready for some fun in Gina’s Kitchen. Tonight, I prepared Clams Oreganata and I am happy to share this recipe with you.  They were so delicious, my family devoured them one by one.

Serves: 4
Degree of difficulty: Easy – Medium

INGREDIENTS:

• 25 little neck clams
• 1/2 cup or so of seasoned breadcrumbs, (Progresso, Italian Style)
• 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 3/4 tsp Oregano
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, (plain olive oil will do also)
• more olive oil for drizzling
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, optional
• 1 lemon

PREPARATION:

In a colander, wash the clams thoroughly and place them on a flat baking tray. I will share with you a little trick to make it easier to open them. Preheat oven at 375 degrees and bake the clams for 3 minutes.  They will be open, just detach them one by one so each clam is on one shell. Do this while they are still on the tray. There will be some juice from the clams, leave it in there. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, black pepper and olive oil. Sprinkle this mixture on top of all the clams and cover the tray as well.  Place in the broiler for 3 minutes and remove promptly. They should have a nice golden color to them.  Drizzle liberally more olive oil, and squeeze the lemon juice all over the clams. Voila! They make a fancy appetizer but do require a little work.  They are so worth the extra effort, your guests will be very satisfied.  If you choose to drink, I would pair it with a nice Chardonnay.

Bon Appetit!

From Gina’s Kitchen