Valentines Day dinner, Clams in Cream and Garlic Sauce

Following on from my last post on the Starter for a Valentines Day dinner this post will be about the main course.

After searching through all our cook books, recipe cards and what felt like the whole world wide web I had found enough inspiration for the starter and armed with a shopping list I wandered down to the supermarket Chiswick. As I walked down it occurred to me that we would probably want to eat a main course after the Oysters, darn! I thought. My mind was totally blank at this point and no inspiration came as I walked the mile or so.

So I went to the fresh fish counter in the supermarket and ordered some Oysters. As the assistant was getting them I looked over the delicious looking fish and sea food and fell upon the clams. I really love sea food and I thought if I am doing Oysters to start why not carry on the theme with clams! I asked the fishmonger for a portion for two people and he recommended around 350g which worked out perfectly. Armed with my purchases I just needed to find a recipe.

With my Oyster recipe I can claim it was my own creation. The clams however were taken from an episode of Rick Steins French Odyssey (I think the cook book is still available). I remembered an episode where he has a sumptuous looking dish of palourde with a cream and garlic sauce (Clams with a Cream and Garlic sauce).

I just followed the recipe from watching the episode which can be found on youtube, (it is episode two of the series) and so I can only give approximate amounts for ingredients but its a relatively simple sauce and so if you have been cooking for a while you should be able to follow it.

I was preparing this and the Oysters at the same time as you can see in some of the pictures.

Ingredients for two people,

40g butter
40g Flour
2 Shallots
1/2 pint (aprox) Milk
3 of Garlic
350g Clams
1 dessert spoonful of Creme Fraiche
1 Bottle of White Wine you will need enough to steam the Clams in then drink the rest! I recommend a good crisp Muscadet.
Linguine for two people, I think a handful is usually enough but it depends upon your appetites.
A good handful of chopped Parsley

Recipe

This really is a quick and simple meal to prepare, and I am sure your special one will love it.

Begin by finely chopping the Shallots, Garlic and Parsley. Pop on enough water to boil your Pasta in.

Make sure you have all the ingredients to hand as this is a relatively quick recipe. You will be making a basic Roux for the sauce base. Begin by melting the butter in a large sauce pan. Add in the Shallots and Garlic and soften for 3 minutes. Add in the flour and stir into a paste. Gradually add the Milk whilst constantly whisking to beat out any lumps. Set to one side.

In a hot pan add the Clams and a glass of White Wine. They will cook very quickly as all you need to do is steam them open, give them a little shake to make sure they open. (discard any which don’t open).

Return the Roux to a medium heat. Strain the Liquor and add it to the Sauce base. Stir well. Next add the Creme Fraiche and chopped P arsley. Pour this over the Clams and toss through the Linguine.

Serve with a glass of the Muscadet and enjoy very Romantic Valentines Day Evening!

See more photos and a little video on Flickr

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• 4 Sweet Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Your Kids (celebritybabies.people.com)