Author Notes
This recipe is my own creation. I have been making it for years and it has always been a hit at my dinner parties as a wonderful first course. You want to have an extra baguette of French bread because the sauce is so wonderful that everyone ends up sopping it up. —nonchefnick
Ingredients
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1.5 pounds
Fresh Clams
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1.5 pounds
Fresh Mussels
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1
Small Red Pepper, Diced
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1
Yellow Onion, Diced
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4
Garlic Cloves, minced
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1/4 cup
Capers, Large
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1/2 teaspoon
Black Pepper, Coursely Ground
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1/4 cup
Olive oil
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2 tablespoons
Butter
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2 pinches
Saffron Threads
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1 teaspoon
Tomato Paste
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1.75 cups
Fish Stock
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1/4 cup
Cream
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2 tablespoons
Anise Liquor (Ricard, Pernod, or Ouzo)
Directions
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Wash Clams and Mussels (debeard) in cold water; set aside
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In a 10 inch wide x 3 inch deep pan, heat olive oil in medium high heat.
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Add onions and red pepper, stir, and saute for about 2 minutes or until onions get translucent.
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Next, add your garlic and 1 tablespoon of butter, stir, and continue to cook for another minute. Now you want to add your shellfish and stir so that everything is coated.
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Stir for about a minute and add your fish stock, anise liquor or extract, tomato paste, ground pepper, saffron threads, and capers. Bring to a vigorous boil, cover tightly, and lower heat to low. Cook covered for 5 minutes, then remove all the clams and mussels and set aside in a deep (2 inch) serving dish.
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Now add the cream and the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan with the liquid and stir until butter has completely melted and sauce has begun to slightly thicken. This should take only about a minute and begin to bubble. Taste for flavor. There should be no need for salt, trust me, it should be just right.
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Turn heat off and spoon over the clams and mussels and present it to your dinner guests.
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