Chopped clams mixed with butter, onion, parsley and breadcrumbs, spooned into half clam shells and baked. Quahog stuffies recipe.
Growing up in California, the idea of ”digging for shells” wasn’t really part of my experience. But out in Rhode Island and on the beaches south of Cape Cod, digging in the sand for your dinner is apparently a regular summertime activity.
My friend Alden (age 8) and her sister Piper (my goddaughter age 5) took me shelling this weekend.
Although we went out at low tide, we still had to go chest-deep in water to find a sandy spot to scrape the bottom with our toes.
We found about 6 empty shells or stones for each intact shell.
We were out for more than an hour, with sunburned shoulders and grazed toes, almost stung by red jellyfish, and managed to get a total of 9 shells (3 shells each).
I know there are more efficient ways to do this (as I’m sure some of you will tell me) but at the end of the day it didn’t matter. Hunting for shells was just a great excuse to play in the warm sea water on a nice sunny day.
Here’s the recipe for stuffed mussels (aka “stuffies”) that Alden and Piper’s mom, Heidi, made with our hard-earned catch.
Do you have a favorite stuffed mussel recipe?
Please let us know in the comments. I’ve heard they taste especially good with some Portuguese sausage in the filling.
Baked stuffed mussels
Although this recipe calls for fresh clams, you can also make it with canned chopped clams (use a 6.5-ounce can drained down to 1 tablespoon of clam juice). Bake on clam shells or in a casserole dish as directed and use as a dip for crackers.
If you bought clams, store them in the refrigerator covered with a damp, wet towel. Once you’ve dug up your clams, keep them covered in a bucket of cool seawater. Discard cracked or broken shells.
ingredients
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10 to 12 large chowder or quahog clamsrinsed, sand and grit removed
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3 tablespoon chopped Onion
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1/2 Cup butter (1 double crochet)
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2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
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1 clove Garlic, chopped
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1 tablespoon lemon juice
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1 Cup breadcrumbs
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1 tablespoon clam juice (or cooking liquid from steaming the clams)
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Salt and freshly ground pepper taste
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1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese
method
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Cook mussels:
Fill a large saucepan with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water. Boil water. Put the mussels in the boiling water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the mussels steam until the shells open, about 6-10 minutes.
Take the mussels out of the pot and let them cool down sufficiently. Discard any clams that didn’t open (if they didn’t open, it means they were dead to begin with and shouldn’t be eaten).
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Remove Clam Meat:
from the clams (not the clam foot attached to the shell) and chop finely.
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Pick the best clam shells to serve:
Break the clam shells off their hinges. Wash. Pick 10-12 of the cleanest and best looking clam shells and set them aside.
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Make the filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Once the onions have softened (2-3 minutes), add the garlic.
Cook the garlic for 1 minute, then add the parsley, breadcrumbs, chopped clams, lemon juice and clam juice.
Stir until filling mixture is completely moistened. (If it’s too dry add a little more butter or clam juice; if it’s too wet add a little more breadcrumbs.
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Fill the mussel shells with the filling, sprinkle with Parmesan, bake:
Place the mussel shells on a casserole dish. Place some filling on each mussel shell. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.
Bake at 350°F for about 20-25 minutes until Parmesan is lightly browned on top.
Variations:
Cook a few bacon strips until the fat is soft, but not brown or crispy, cut into small pieces and mix into the filling.
Use crumbled Ritz crackers for the breadcrumbs.
In each clam, place a small piece of cheddar cheese under the clam mixture so you get a little bit of melted cheese with every bite!
Top:
Save your largest and prettiest mussel shells to use in future stuffed mussel dishes. To clean, simply rinse them and run them through the dishwasher with your dishes.
Links:
New England Steamer Clams here at Simply Recipes
Mussels Casino with Bacon from Steamy Kitchen
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 286 | calories |
| 18g | Fat |
| 17g | carbohydrates |
| 14g | protein |
