Littleneck Clam Soup with Butter Beans

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Littleneck Clam Soup with Butter Beans
Sun, 03-02-2008 - 9:48am

Littleneck Clam Soup with Butter Beans and Saffron


  • fast FAST
  • healthy HEALTHY 

TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN
SERVES: 4



ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup finely diced Serrano ham or prosciutto (2 ounces)
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fine dry whole wheat bread crumbs
  • Two 15-ounce cans butter beans with their liquid
  • Pinch of dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Large pinch of saffron threads
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 3 dozen littleneck clams—scrubbed and shucked, liquor reserved
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley


directions

  1. In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ham and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the bread crumbs, then add the beans and their liquid along with the thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
  2. In a small bowl, crush the saffron threads into the water. Add to the beans and season with pepper. Simmer the soup over low heat for 15 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the clams and their reserved liquor and cook for 3 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Sprinkle the soup with the parsley and serve.

SERVE WITH Garlic-rubbed toasts.


NOTES Cooking Club Tip: For a more rustic-looking soup, you could add the clams in their shells to the soup in Step 2 and cover the pot for 3 minutes or until the clams open. Serve the soup with an extra bowl for the shells. If you prefer to add the clams without their shells and want to avoid the cumbersome process of shucking them raw, steam them in an inch of water or white wine. Remove the clams from their shells, and add them to the soup with their steaming liquid, simmering the soup only 1 minute more.

Photobucket

 



Photobucket