Málaga style clams

 

On the Andalusian coast, mainly in Malaga, where Picasso was born,  clams are served with a slightly spicy sauce made with onion, garlic, white wine and paprika, among other simple ingredients that make the dish very tasty.

INGREDIENTS (4 people) :

• 2 Kg (4.4 lbs) of clams
• 1 large red onion
• 1/2 cup (100ml) white wine
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 chilli pepper
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon of wheat flour
• black pepper
• Fresh parsley
• Salt
• extra virgin olive oil

Put the clams in a pot with plenty of salted water (2 or 3 tablespoons) so that they open and release the sand. It is convenient to change the water two or three times keeping the clams submerged. 4 or 5 hours will be more than enough.

In a saucepan over medium heat, pour the cups of wine and introduce the clams so that they open. From the moment the wine boils, it will take about 5 minutes to open them all, with the pot covered. The ones that haven't opened after a while should be thrown away because it means they were already dead when they were picked, and it's not a good idea to eat them.

Once the clams are open, remove them reserving the remaining broth.

In a pan, pour a generous splash of olive oil. Sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic over medium heat, with a pinch of salt so that the onion sweats. We also add the chopped chilli -without the seeds-. Then we add the sifted flour and when it is fried, the broth that we have previously obtained by opening the clams with the wine.

Once the sauce is made, add the paprika and chopped parsley leaves, stirring for a minute. Finally, add the clams to the sauce and let them cook for 5 minutes, moving from side to side so that the liquid penetrates the shells. A little before the end we rectify salt and pepper.

Prepare bread because the sauce is delicious!