Conchas Finas Gratinadas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Clam knife or sturdy oyster knife
• •Rimmed baking tray
• •Fine sieve
• •Small mixing bowl
• •Stiff brush for cleaning shells

Instructions

1. 1

   Purge the clams

   Scrub the conchas finas under cold running water. Dissolve 30g fine sea salt in 1 litre cold water, add the clams, and leave them 20 minutes so they spit out any grit. Lift them out, don't pour the sandy water over them, and rinse once more. Discard any cracked clam, and any open one that will not close when tapped.

   Live shellfish should smell clean and of the sea. If it smells sour or heavy, no recipe fixes that. Sourcing wins here.
2. 2

   Mix the crumbs

   Put the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, 35ml of the olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, and the black pepper in a bowl. Mix with your fingers until it looks like damp sand, not a paste. Pésalo, no lo adivines: too much bread is how a clam disappears under its own topping.

3. 3

   Open and save

   Heat the oven grill or broiler to its highest setting, with a rack 8 to 10cm from the heat. Open the clams over a bowl with a clam knife, cutting the muscle and keeping the deeper half shell. Save the liquor, then strain it through a fine sieve. If opening them raw makes you nervous, set the closed clams in the hot oven for 2 minutes only, just until the hinge relaxes, then open them and shorten the final gratin by about 1 minute. Nadie nace sabiendo.

4. 4

   Fill the shells

   Spread the coarse salt over a rimmed baking tray and nestle the half shells into it so they sit level. Loosen each clam from its shell with the tip of the knife, but leave it in place. Stir 30ml strained clam liquor into the crumbs, then spoon a scant tablespoon over each clam, leaving a little meat visible at the edge. Drizzle with the remaining 15ml olive oil.

5. 5

   Gratinate briefly

   Slide the tray under the grill or broiler for 3 to 4 minutes, until the crumbs are freckled gold and the clam edges are just firm. Do not wait for a thick brown crust; by then the clam has turned rubbery, and you know it. Smaller substitute clams may need only 2 minutes. Serve at once with lemon wedges. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the clams the day you cook them if you can. They should be heavy, closed, and clean-smelling. A good fishmonger matters more here than a clever hand at the oven.
• •Concha fina is broad and meaty, with a sweetness that can take the quick gratin. Large cherrystone or topneck clams work when you're far from Málaga, but they cook faster and take less topping.
• •Use fresh breadcrumbs from day-old bread, not dusty packaged crumbs if you can avoid it. Fresh crumbs drink the oil and clam liquor, then brown quickly, which protects the clam from a long bake.
• •Don't add cheese or bechamel. That makes a different filled shell, heavier and duller. Here the finish is ajo-perejil, garlic and parsley, olive oil, and just enough bread.
• •Serve these straight from the tray, with lemon and cold dry fino, manzanilla, or a crisp white from Málaga. They wait for nobody.

Advance Preparation

• •Scrub and purge the clams up to 2 hours ahead, then keep them cold and uncovered or loosely covered in the refrigerator, never sealed in water.
• •Mix the breadcrumb, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil up to 4 hours ahead. Add the strained clam liquor only after the clams are opened.
• •Do not fully assemble these hours ahead. Open, top, and gratinate close to serving so the crumbs stay lively and the clam stays tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)