If you love fried clams or a nice bowl of clam chowder, then eating clams on the half shell will be a revelation for you. Serving clams as a crudo plays up their assertive, concentrated clam flavor and guarantees tender meat. It’s easy, delicious, and a little bit different. If you don’t have baby fennel, you can use finely chopped fennel bulb. For a less spicy dish, you can split the chile lengthwise and remove the seeds and membrane first, then dice.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 as a first course
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Combine the fennel, lemon juice, oil, and chile in a small bowl and let marinate for 10 minutes or so while you shuck the clams.
Step 2
Shucking clams is a little different from shucking oysters. You can do it from the hinge with an oyster knife, or you can get a clam knife and go in from the lip side. If you’re going to do it, ask your fishmonger, very sweetly, whether he or she will demonstrate the technique for you if you’ve never done it before. The clam knife has a thin blade and slides through the lip with the flat side, not the tip.
Step 3
Place the shucked clams on a large plate. Pile the fennel mixture high on each clam, spooning some of the liquid over the top of each one. Serve immediately.
