Razor Clams, Fennel, and Pickled Chiles

This recipe is a classic dish from the Charlie Bird restaurant in New York. It’s the perfect opener to an excellent meal that will delight one and all. Serve it with a Chablis and you’re done!

List of ingredients

Serves 4

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 each Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
1 each Shallot, thinly sliced
½ each Fennel, thinly sliced
24 each Razor Clams, live, rinsed
1 cup White Wine, dry
1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
4 each Fennel Stems, fronds removed, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
1 pinch Maldon Sea Salt
2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. Calabrian Chile Paste

Difficulty :
  • 3 sur 4
Cost
  • 3 sur 4

Sommelier’s tip

 Chablis 

This Chablis wine with notes of lemon peel, green apple, and citrus blossom combines richness with elegance. Its minerality and chiseled crispness make it the ideal partner for perfectly pan-fried razor clams with fennel, topped off with a touch of chili, shallot, and garlic.
Arvid Rosengren, Best Sommelier in the World 2016, savored this recipe, hailing a simple yet inimitable and delicious pairing with Chablis wine.

Method

In large saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil and saute garlic, shallot, and fennel for 30 seconds.


Add clams and red pepper flakes.


Pour in wine, cover and cook 2 minutes until the first wisps of steam escape. Immediately remove pan from heat and check to see if all clams are open and just firm.
Strain off and reserve liquid.


When clams are cool enough to handle, remove the straight, firm muscle surrounding belly. Thinly slice clam meat on a bias and reserve in a mixing bowl.
Separate, clean, and reserve shells.


In a bowl add razor clam meat, sliced fennel stems, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and 2 teaspoons reserved clam cooking liquid. Toss to combine.

 

Place a small portion of Calabrian chile paste on the end of 16 half shells. Add a spoonful of the razor clam mixture to each shell. Serve on ice.

Razor Clams, Fennel, and Pickled Chiles and Chablis wine

The author of this recipe

Ryan Hardy is chef at the Charlie Bird restaurant in New York, a contemporary eatery with a strong Italian feel. Here, he shares one of the classics of the Charlie Bird menu.

www.charliebirdnyc.com