Read the whole recipe through, as there are several parts that must be prepared in advance. Worth it, though – you’ve never had clams like this. We love the “extras” in Bouchon that Keller adds; the garlic confit has now become a regular occupant of our refrigerator!
Makes 4 divine servings
Croutons
1 Baguette (about 2-1/2 inches wide)
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Clams
2-1/2 lbs Manila clams
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup minced shallots
2 teaspoons minced thyme
24 cloves Garlic Confit (recipe below)
1/4 cup Soffritto (recipe below)
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup Aioli or Tapenade (recipe below)
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
Cracked black pepper
For the croutons:
Preheat the boiler. Using a serrated knife, cut the baguette on a severe diagonal to make 4 slices that are about 9 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. Place the croutons on a baking sheet, brush both sides lightly with olive oil, and season with a pinch of salt. Place under the boiler and toast until lightly browned on the first side, then turn each crouton over and brown the second side. Set aside.
For the clams:
Wash the clams under cold running water; if they are very dirty, scrub with a clean scouring pad.
The clams cook very quickly; have all the ingredients and the serving bowls ready before you begin to cook. Heat a pot (one with a tight-fitting lid) large enough to hold the clams no more than two deep over mediumhigh heat. (If you don’t have a large enough pot, use two smaller saucepans and split the ingredients between them.) When the pot is hot, add the oil and reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots and sweat them for a minute, then add the thyme, garlic confit, soffritto and salt and pepper to taste. Stir the mixture for a minute to bring out the flavour of the soffritto.
Increase the heat to high, add the butter and clams, and toss the clams in the soffritto mixture. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the wine. Cover with the pot lid and let the clams steam until they open, 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the pot. If the clams have not opened after a minute, stir them and cover the pot again.
Meanwhile, spread each crouton with a tablespoon of aioli or tapenade. When all the clams have opened, stir in the parsley and a large pinch of cracked black pepper. Divide the clams and broth among four serving bowls, place a crouton alongside each, and serve immediately.
Garlic Confit
Keller says, “At the restaurant, garlic confit is used in so many preparations that we consider it to be a pantry staple. It’s such a great flavouring device for everything from shellfish to mashed potatoes, or to be stirred into soup or spread on a baguette for a tartine. The oil the garlic is cooked in can be used as well.”
Makes 1 cup
1 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 45 cloves)
About 2 cups of canola oil
Cut off and discard the root ends of the garlic cloves. Place the cloves in a small saucepan and add enough oil to cover them by about 1 inch – none of the garlic cloves should be poking through the oil.
Place the saucepan on a diffuser over medium-low heat. The cloves should cook gently: Very small bubbles will come up through the oil, but the bubbles should not break the surface. Adjust the heat as necessary and move the pan to one side of the diffuser if it is cooking too quickly. Cook the garlic for about 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until the cloves are completely tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the garlic to cool in the oil. Refrigerate the garlic, submerged in the oil, for up to a month.
Soffritto
This is one of Keller’s “Building Blocks” in cooking. Soffritto is onion based, and most commonly found in Italian, Spanish and Catalonian cooking in various versions to add depth and richness to many dishes and sauces. In this rendition, the onion is cooked very slowly in olive oil until it’s completely caramelized – the colour of golden raisins. A tomato purée is added and caramelized in the oil as well, resulting in a rich, sweet, almost jammy mixture. This recipe can easily be increased to make a larger batch, and it will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
3 cups diced (1-1/4 inch) Spanish onions (about 1 pound)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 pound (about 6) plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Combine the onions, oil and a pinch of salt in an 8- to 9-inch-wide saucepan and place over medium heat. As soon as the oil starts to simmer, reduce the heat to low and set the saucepan on a diffuser to maintain an even low heat. The onions should stew slowly but will eventually caramelize. Adjust the heat as necessary so that the oil continues to bubble gently. As the onions release their liquid, the oil will become cloudy, but once the moisture has evaporated, the oil will clear. Cook for about 2-1/2 hours, or until the onions are a rich golden brown (a shade darker than a golden raisin) and the oil is perfectly clear. Check the pan often; if any of the onions have caramelized against the side of the pan, scrape them back into the oil.
Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes lengthwise in half. Gently squeeze out the seeds and discard. Purée the tomatoes by grating them skin-side-out on the large holes on a box grater. The pulp will go through the grater and the skin will remain in your hand. Discard the skins. (You should have about 1 cup of tomato purée.)
Add the tomatoes to the caramelized onions and cook for 2 to 2-1/2 hours longer, or until the onions and tomatoes begin to fry in the oil. The mixture will sizzle and small bubbles will cover the entire surface. Gently stir the mixture: The tomatoes and onions will separate from the clear oil. Turn off the heat and add another pinch of salt and the garlic. Let the mixture cook in the pan. (The soffritto will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Drain it before using. The oil can be used to start another soffritto.)
Tapenade
Traditionally, tapenade is made of olives, puréed so that their flavour becomes very concentrated – somewhat like pressed caviar, which is caviar that has been crushed and therefore has an intense flavour.
It’s a great garnish for fish or lamb, excellent on grilled chicken. It can be added to sauces as a season, thinned out with olive oil and turned into a sauce itself or made into a vinaigrette. This tapenade is seasoned with a white anchovy from Spain that’s cured in vinegar before being stored in oil.
Makes 1-1/2 cups
8 ounces (about 1-1/2 cups packed) pitted Niçoise olives
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 boquerones anchovy fillet (available at specialty food markets), cut into three pieces
1 tablespoon drained nonpareil capers, preferably Spanish
1 tablespoon minced Garlic Confit
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the olives, mustard, anchovy and capers in a food processor, pulse a few times, then scrape down the sides. Pulse a few more times, leaving the mixture a bit chunky. Add the garlic confit and pulse once or twice.
Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is finely chopped. Transfer it to a bowl and stir in the remaining olive oil, the parsley, and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (The tapenade can be stored, refrigerated, in a covered container for up to 1 week.) Serve it at room temperature.