Recipe: Clams In Smoked Paprika Sauce

CLAMS IN SMOKED PAPRIKA SAUCE

1/4 cup Spanish olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 tsp red garlic, minced
2 tsp la Vera Smoked Sweet Pimenton (paprika)
1/4 cup parsley, minced
3 lbs steamer clams
1 cup fino sherry
1 lemon, quartered

We cook this dish in a Portuguese clam cooker (a Cataplana), but you can use any pot with a lid large enough to hold the clams after they open.

Cook the onion in ample olive oil over medium heat until they begin to disintegrate, approximately 10 minutes, but longer if you have patience.

Stir in the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook for a minute. By now, you should have a nice sofrito.

Add the parsley, reserving a tablespoon for garnish. Add the fino sherry and bring to a boil. Add the steamer clams, cover and cook until all the clams open.

We put the Cataplana right on the table, removing the hinged lid there so our guests get the full impact of the delicious smells which burst out.

Sprinkle with reserved parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon. If the cook did not drink it, you should still have some Fino Sherry to drink as you eat the clams and sop up the broth with bread. If not, open another bottle or a bottle of Vinho Verde.

Source: Spanish Table; Seattle, Washington