Low Country Boil Clam Chowder
With all the rain we had the first half of last week, I was really in the mood for something warm and comforting. I still had better than three dozen clams that I needed to use so my mind wandered to chowder. But here in the lowcountry, a New England or Manhattan style chowder just didn’t seem right. One of my favorite lowcountry dishes is the lowcountry boil, or Frogmore Stew, so I thought I’d borrow these flavors for a chowder. Continue reading
Ceylon Curry of Clams with Zucchini and Bell Pepper
I knew before I even left Ohio that I would make a clam curry dish, remembering the delicious Thai red curry I had made this past spring. But I am an avid reader of food articles and blogs and came across a New York Times collection of curry recipes that I had to check out. Included was a recipe for a Ceylon Curry of Oysters. I had to try this (using clams of course) because I have been on a bit of an Indian food kick lately, and of the many NYT recipes I have made, I have yet to make a bad one. Continue reading
Clams alla Puttanesca con “Zoodles”
My first clamming expedition this season netted me 68 nice, big,, fat clams without much effort. I shared some with a friend and still had a bunch. I decided that my first dish would be a salty, spicy Puttanesca, adding clams and subbing zucchini “noodles” for the spaghetti. But if I was going to make Clams alla Puttanesca, I was going to go all out clam and use all the roughly 4+ dozen clams I had left in the one dish.
This ended up being one of the best clam dishes I have ever made. The sauce was bursting with flavor, the zucchini noodles were crisp tender, and there was just a crazy amount of sweet clams. I can’t wait to make this one for the family later this fall. I got three servings from this recipe, but I served it with nothing else, so if you were having bread and a salad you could certainly get more servings.
I used as my starting point this recipe from Epicurious, omitting the pasta, salt,sugar, and basil, while adding more anchovy paste and chili flake. I did not puree the tomatoes as I prefer a chunky texture.
730AM low tide at Mitchelville Beach. Good morning, world.
Shellfish season for South Carolina officially opened on October first and yesterday was my first opportunity to go clam digging this season. Clam digging is done a few hours on either side of low tide, so my friend Joanne and I decided to head out at dead low tide, a bright and early (and fantastically beautiful) 730 in the morning. The sun rising over the mud flats is a sight to behold and worth venturing out for, even without the clams.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) maintains state shellfish beds for the commercial and recreational harvesting of clams, mussels, and oysters. The beds for Hilton Head Island can be found in the South Edisto-Savannah River region (click on the map to zoom in). The Mitchelville Beach area is a recreational area and this is where I go (although I won’t divulge my preferred area, sorry). A saltwater fishing license is required to harvest shellfish (and blue crabs), but visitor’s can purchase a 2-week license easily online for only $11.
Me and my canine companions. The doggies don’t find clams nearly as interesting as the dead horseshoe crabs on the shore.
Posted in Things To Do
Tagged clamming, Mitchelville Beach, Port Royal Sound, shellfish
