The grill is a great place to cook briny clams—just put them in a pan over hot coals and they open right up. Adding garlic bread, grilled lemons and a garlicky broth completes the dish. You can turn this appetizer into a main course by mixing the finished clams with 3/4 pounds of cooked linguine.
Regan Burns Cafiso
| 1/2 cup vermouth or white wine | 2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed | |
| 3 garlic cloves, minced | 4 (1-inch thick) slices crusty bread | |
| 1 teaspoon dried oregano | 2 lemons, halved crosswise | |
| 2 tablespoons butter | 1 whole garlic clove, halved | |
| 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing on bread | 2 tablespoons chopped parsley | |
| Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper |
Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high. While grill is heating, in a small saucepan, combine white wine, garlic, oregano, butter and olive oil; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer 1 minute, then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Brush bread slices with olive oil on both sides and reserve.
Place clams in a single layer in a disposable aluminum grilling pan and set on grill; close grill cover. Cook until clams open, about 11 to 15 minutes, removing clams to a serving dish as they open. (Discard any unopened clams.) Add the wine and garlic mixture to pan containing the clam juices, simmer 2 minutes; pour over the clams. Place bread slices and lemons (cut side down) on grill. Grill until bread is toasted and lightly charred, about 1 minute per side, and lemons are charred on their cut sides; remove from grill.
Rub half a garlic clove on one side of the grilled bread. Sprinkle parsley over clams and serve with garlic bread and grilled lemons.