Baked Clams with Herb and Cheese Sauce
“Baked clams that will delight your palate, this recipe makes tender clams mixed with garlic-herb butter and parmesan cheese and baked until golden.”
This baked clams with garlic-herb butter and cheese sauce makes a lovely appetizer for a special meal. It’s not every day that you can find fresh clams from the store, so make it extra special using this recipe.
There are so many flavors packed in just one bite; tender and sweet clams; the crispy breading; the garlicky, cheesy and zesty sauce makes this recipe tasty, yet so easy to make.
Clams are a very nutritious whole food. They are a source of protein; are rich in vitamins, minerals, and Omega- 3 fatty acids; and possess cancer-preventing properties.
Just a side story
I have a fond memory of clams. I recalled the time when we went for clam digging; it was really fun and addictive. The weather was nice (not sunny or cold) and it was low tide, so it was a perfect time for clam searching. I remembered that we didn’t notice that we were already in the middle of the sea because we were so engrossed in the activity. In the end, we got around one pale that day and shared some of it and some were cooked in different dishes. I just wish we can do that again. And back to the recipe…
fresh and clean clams
When you buy clams, you have to make sure they are fresh and clean. To clean them, you have to soaked them overnight (recommended) and drain a few times to completely remove the sand in there or they will be gritty when you chew them. It usually takes a couple of times of soaking and draining, to really remove all the sand. Then gently scrub them and remove any small shell that may have stick to it.
How to bake clams
You want to bake them at high temperature so the shells will open up and release their natural juice. You need also to line them up to prevent overcrowding so that everyone will have a nice space when they start to pop up. Then just set aside and wait until the sauces are cooked. Then you will have to drizzle the garlic-herb and cheesy sauce into the clams and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden brown. You may want to reserve some of the cheese sauce to serve as a dipping sauce later when you serve them. You can serve it immediately while they’re still warm.
Serve these baked clams with garlic-herb and cheese sauce in your special occasion and see how the crowd will like it.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and tell me how you liked it in the comments section below; I love hearing from you! Happy tummy!
Baked Clams with Herb and Cheese Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
- Cooking pot/ wok and stirring spoon
- Chopping board and knife
- Baking tray/ pan
Ingredients
- 1 kilo fresh clams, cleaned
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- handful fresh parsley, chopped
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Clean clams carefully by submerging it to the water overnight and removing any shells that sticks to it.
- Preheat oven to 390 °F /200 °C. Line up clams into the foiled baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until all clam popped open.
- While roasting the clams, prepare the garlic-herb butter and cheese sauce.
- To cook herb butter. In a wok, melt butter and oil then add garlic. Cook until fragrant then add lemon and parsley. Set aside.
- To make the cheese sauce. Heat the milk in a sauce pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the parmesan/cheddar cheese and mix until melted and thick. Set aside.
- Back in the oven. After 10 minutes or when all clams are popped open, carefully remove from the oven and transfer clams to a baking dish, reserving juices in shell.
- Drizzle the prepared garlic-herb butter over the clams followed by the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Garnish with parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Video
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