Hello! Mia here, filling in for Melissa today and Monday. I hope your week has been sunny.
I love clams, but I don’t cook them enough. I’m not sure why. They’re a sustainable, year-round seafood option and are not too expensive. They’re also — let’s be honest here — kitchen comedy gold. It gives me a stupid amount of glee to click empty clamshells like tiny little castanets or give them a silly voice to talk to my dog. Cooking: It’s fun!
So I’m going to make Lidey Heuck’s new recipe for littleneck clams with cherry tomatoes and pearl couscous, the sort of dish I would seek out and order at a cute wine bar with mismatched plates and an impressive vermouth collection. Although it looks and feels a little fancy, Lidey’s recipe is weeknight-easy: a one-pot dish that simmers clams with garlic, white wine, shallots and tomatoes, making a briny broth for the pearl couscous or fregola to soak up. Add a hunk of your favorite bread and a tangle of arugula dressed with olive oil and lemon juice and there it is — a classy clam dinner. (At least until the castanets action happens.)
Featured Recipe
Littleneck Clams With Cherry Tomatoes and Pearl Couscous
I’ll stick with this “I should be cooking more of” theme and move on to the hot mustard powder hanging out in my spice drawer. It’s what gives this honey-glazed chicken recipe from Kay Chun its kick; as Kay notes, make a double batch of the glaze, as it’s also delicious on pork chops or shrimp.
I might also try stirring a pinch of mustard powder into the miso-vinegar mixture that dresses the tofu and asparagus in this refreshing vegan dish topped with crispy frizzled leeks. But a lot of readers rave that Ali Slagle’s recipe is perfect as is, so maybe I’ll save my mustard powder for these green beans instead.
