Clams - Grilled/ Romano Italian Style
with Grilled SlicedItalian Bread
2 Lbs. clams
½ c. shredded Romano - Cello cheese
2 T. bread crumbs…plain
2 T. chopped fresh oregano
1 T. parsley chopped… fresh
¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp. of onion powder
⅛ tsp. of pepper or dab of red crushed pepper
¼ cup total to equal -olive oil/butter mixed
Squeeze fresh lemon juice in butter/olive oil and Zest from ½ of a fresh lemon (Use a scraper to zest the outside skin of a lemon finely)
Combine: cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, lemon zest, salt, and pepper, onion powder
in a small bowl- set aside …Unless you coat clams in the bowl…
than you’ll need large bowl
Scrub the clams in clean water and rinse again
Arrange clams in a grill basket or in a container on a grill rack. Grill over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until the shells open. Remove from grill and place in a large shallow bowl or serving platter with lettuce on the bottom serving tray.
Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over clams and drizzle with melted olive oil/butter mixture with fresh lemon juice squirted into butter mixture.
Serve immediately. I like to serve with sliced Italian bread toasted on the grill with grated Cello Cheese-( or any good grated Romano Cheese) garlic powder, some Italian seasoning sprinkled over both sides of bread… Than you can dip your toasted bread in bowl mixed with olive oil and Italian seasonings with a little salt, pepper, little garlic powder… . .I like a little dash of red crushed pepper in this mixture
To rid sand from clams soak in lukewarm water with ½ c. of cornmeal for 20 minutes.
If you want you can do this in a pan on top of the stove also but the grill with fresh mesquite wood is so good.
Prep and Cook time:10min Total about 20 minutes H.J.