SCOTT CONANT’S CLAMS IN GUAZZETTO

 “Guazzetto means to slow cook or simmer, usually with tomatoes and broth, in order to concentrate flavors – and that’s exactly what goes on in this quick and easy dish. Best of all, as you finish up a good guazzetto, a flavorful, light broth should still cover the bottom of the bowl. Have some good crusty bread handy to sop it up. Manilla clams look sexy (and taste sweet, too) but you can use any small hardshell clam in this easy and quick dish. Serves two.”

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 cup chicken broth
36 manilla or other small hardshell clams
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
4 basil leaves chiffonnade

In a large saucepan or sauté pan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and let it sizzle off the heat for a minute. Add the tomatoes and the basil chiffonnade, return the pan to the heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes release some of their juices. Add the chicken broth and the clams. Cover the pan and cook, tossing once or twice, until the clams open, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the parsley over the clams, toss, and serve.

In spring, 2007, Scott Conant  left as chef at three starred L’Impero and at Alto to follow his own stars.  He is the consulting chef at Tutto Il Giorno in Sag Harbor.

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