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Recipe: Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato, Lisbon In a Dish

Name: Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato
Cuisine: Lisbon
Ingredients: Serves 2 as a petisco (a Portuguese-style drinking snack)1 small bunch cilantro (around 30g; including stems and, if possible, roots)5 cloves garlic (around 15g total), peeled and crushed with the side of a knife4 tablespoons olive oil; 1 bay leaf; 1kg clams, cleaned; 1 lemon, halved lengthwise Salt (optional); Bread, for serving

By Austin Bush

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Recipe: Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato, Lisbon In a Dish

Recipe Information

Chef/restaurateur André Magalhães has made a few subtle but effective tweaks to this classic Lisbon dish. He sautées cilantro stems and roots in olive oil to extract their essential oils, tossing the tender leaves in at the end so they don’t wilt. Depending on how much liquid your clams shed (which is related to how fresh they are), you may need to add a tablespoon or two of water and a pinch of salt (André suggests adding seawater, if that’s an option). André opts to add a bay leaf because, well, “Portuguese people like to use it.” And he plucks the clams from the dish as they open, one by one, so they don’t get overcooked.

André adds that bread is obligatory to serve with amêijoas à Bulhão Pato because that’s simply how people in Lisbon tend to eat, but we suspect it’s yet another way to consume every last drop of that precious sauce.

Suggested wine pairing: a Quinta da Lapa Alvarinho or similar young, citrusy, slightly effervescent wine goes great with this dish

Ingredients

Serves 2 as a petisco (a Portuguese-style drinking snack)

1 small bunch cilantro (around 30g; including stems and, if possible, roots)

5 cloves garlic (around 15g total), peeled and crushed with the side of a knife

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
1kg clams, cleaned
1 lemon, halved lengthwise Salt (optional)
Bread, for serving

Preparation

Step One

Prepare the cilantro by thinly slicing the cilantro roots and stalks. Set aside.

Step Two

To a large saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the garlic, swirling and stirring until the garlic is fragrant and just starting to turn golden, around 1 minute. Add the reserved cilantro stems and roots, and the bay leaf, swirling and stirring until fragrant, around 1 minute.

Step Three

Add the clams, close the lid and steam, stirring and shaking occasionally, until some of the clams have opened, around 2 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and as the clams open, remove them to a bowl, continuing until all the clams have been removed. If, at this point, there’s very little liquid at the bottom of the saucepan, add enough water to make a thin layer on the bottom, and salt, to taste. Otherwise, add the clams back to the saucepan, return the heat to medium, and when the liquid starts to simmer again, turn off the heat.

Step Four

Tear the cilantro leaves by hand and add to the clams, along with the juice of half of the lemon, stir to combine.

Step Five

To serve, remove the clams to a shallow bowl, and serve with the remaining lemon in slices, with bread.

Written & photos by Austin Bush

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