For close to 100 years, Seattle’s Pike Place Public Market has been a favorite destination for food-loving locals and tourists alike. Packed with stalls offering the best quality and selection of fish found on the West Coast, restaurants serving up Pacific Northwest cuisine, and culinary shops of every persuasion, the market is a fish-lover’s paradise.
This clambake can be prepared in your own kitchen with results as tasty as if it had been cooked in the great outdoors.
Servings: 1
2 large soft lettuce leaves, such as Bibb, green leaf or iceberg
1 halibut fillet, about 3 ounces, skin and bones removed, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
6 clams, purged and shells scrubbed
6 mussels, scrubbed and debearded just before cooking
3 Alaskan spot prawns, cut down the back with scissors and vein extracted
2 to 3 small new potatoes, about 1 1/2-inches in diameter, cut in half
1 ear corn, husk removed and broken or cut into thirds
6 snow peas, strings removed
1 small yellow squash or zucchini, ends removed and cut into 1/2—inch rounds
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh rosemary, thyme, or tarragon sprigs
1/4 cup clam juice, fish stock, or chicken stock
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut two 24-inch lengths of aluminum foil and place on a flat surface in a cross-shaped pattern. Place the lettuce leaves in the center of the foil and top with the halibut fillet, then place the clams, mussels, and spot prawns on top. Place the potatoes, corn, snow peas, and yellow squash around the halibut, then pull up sides of the fail around the vegetables to form a bowl shape. Sprinkle the garlic over the seafood and vegetables, place the herb sprigs an top of the seafood, then drizzle clam juice over all.
Bring the long sides of foil up until they meet in the middle and secure tightly. Fold the remaining ends to seal tightly. Place the packet on a baking sheet and bake 1 hour.
To serve, place the packet on an individual plate and unfold or cut open the foil at the table for an informal presentation. Alternately, unfold the foil in the kitchen, transfer contents of the packet to a plate, and discard the foil.
