Quilting Arts and memories

My Quilting Arts Mag arrived yesterday and I was leafing through it and Pokey Bolton had published a recipes for clams! It brought back memories of an afternoon on Chesapeake Bay and the delicious clams.

While I stayed on the East Coast I cooked a number of dishes for friends I was staying with but one that met great praise was Teesryo. An Indian dish from Goa that you can use mussels with and wonderfully for all those stitchers is a relatively quick and DELICIOUS dish to make.

TEESRYO

1 kg clams or mussels
3 tablespoons oil
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
5 cm piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 fresh hot green chilli peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup freshly grated coconut (you can use less) **
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves
Heat the oil and fry the chopped garlic, ginger, onion, and chilli peppers until the onion is golden brown. Stir in the turmeric, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper. After a few minutes add the clams. Simmer, covered, for about five minutes, by which time the clam shells should have opened. Remove from heat and put in a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the freshly grated coconut, lemon juice and fresh coriander.

**Fresh coconut can be hard to source and I certainly didnt have any when I was in the US, I changed the recipe slightly by adding a small can of coconut milk just prior to adding the clams which gave me a deliciously soupy broth that was ideal for serving with rice.
Serve with rice and cucumber slices dressed with a little lemon and salt.


Another Mussel favourite of mine is a Mediterranean style that can also be adapted for use with clams.



CHILLI MUSSELS


1 kg Mussels
1 tin peeled tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups of passata
basil and oregano (fresh is best and add to taste)
3 sliced chillies (deseeded if desired)
Olive oil
Black Pepper
6 Garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 Tbsp of lemon zest
Parsley chopped


Puree tomatoes (or chop if you would prefer a slightly chunkier texture)
Heat olive oil and sauté garlic and chilli gently, toss in basil and oregano and season with pepper.
Stir in tomato and cook until oil begins to separate from tomato and then add Mussels and allow to simmer for about 5-6 mins until open and flesh is firm. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and lemon zest.
Serve in bowls with crusty white bread and chilled white wine