Light Summer Supper ~

We are on the go most summer nights, so I’ve come up

with a few ‘go-to’... simple but delicious,

summer suppers.  Manila clams, straight from

the beaches of Puget Sound with

pancetta, fennel and kale…is

one of my ‘go-to’ favorites! I pick up a nice hunk of

pancetta, dice it and start crisping it up in a 

 little olive oil. Next I add a diced

fennel bulb and a clove of chopped garlic.

I love  the combination of seafood and fennel.

To enhance that licorice taste, I pour a small

glug of Pernod and then a little

Brandy into the pot.

To create the broth,

 I add 1/2 a cup of good

white wine and a cup and a half or so

of water. (You can use clam juice,

if you have it.) For a little heat,

 I add  a sprinkling of red pepper

flakes and salt & pepper. Let the broth all happily

simmer away  for a few minutes, then add the

clams & the kale plus a

few tablespoons of unsalted butter. The kale

gives this dish a nice

bitterness and weight. Cover

and cook for ten minutes or so,until

 the broth is steamy  hot and the little clams

have eased  open. I finish this dish off, at the table with

a little fresh

lemon zest, & snipped chives 

from the garden plus another pat of butter :)  Slice

a baguette right at the

table for mopping, pour a little

champagne and your

your light, summer

supper  is

served,

 

Ingredients:

1 cup good white wine

2 cups water

1 pound Manila clams (rinsed)

pancetta diced

1 clove of garlic chopped

a few handfuls of kale  

1 fennel bulb diced

chives

good olive oil

unsalted butter

red pepper flakes

Pernod & brandy

salt & pepper