Littleneck Clams in a Citrusy Thai Broth

Directions

1. Place clams over ice and store in the fridge while you make the broth. Get out a large stock pot or dutch oven. Take half of the scallions and roughly chop them into large pieces. Tear off a few basil leaves, quarter the onion, peel the oranges (and squeeze juice over the pot), peel the garlic and dump all ingredients into the pot together with the coconut oil. Reserve the rest of the scallions and basil for garnish later. Place ginger, turmeric, jalapeño, lemongrass, lime leaves and honey into the pot as well. Season with kosher salt and stir.
2. Simmer all ingredients together until the oil is melted and you begin to smell the different aromas. Pour vegetable broth into the pot and bring to a boil. Let all ingredients simmer on medium/low heat for about an hour. Taste the broth and season with more kosher salt if needed.
3. Strain the broth. I just used a spoon strainer to remove all large ingredients. You're left with just a flavorful, thin broth. Bring the broth to a low boil and remove clams from fridge. Place clams into broth and cover to cook. This should take about 10 minutes.
4. While the clams are cooking, chop remaining scallions and julienne the basil. Check your clams - when the shells are open they're ready. Remove the open clams from the pot and place in a large bowl (discard any clams that did not open). Turn off the burner and throw chopped scallions, basil and coconut milk (or coconut cream) into the broth. Stir and season as needed.
5. Place clams in individual bowls with crusty bread. Spoon hot broth over clams and serve. The broth is even more delicious after the clams have been cooked in it, and you will most likely have excess broth. I recommend saving it.