These Spanish clams are my recreation of one of the restaurants in Valencia’s version I got during a trip there. In fact, I learned this authentic recipe from the host of my guesthouse who as luck would have it also owned a little taverna downstairs. This easy almejas recipe is a great option for your next tapas night with friends!
The restaurant that inspired me to learn this Spanish Clams recipe is called El Rinconet and is absolutely fantastic. Should you find yourself in Valencia I definitely recommend it. One of the dishes we got as a sharing plate (like tapas) was a large serving of baby clams in a garlic wine sauce. This dish is easily one of my favorite Spanish recipes.
The clams used in this dish are extremely small, often called baby clams or button clams in America and you may recognize the shells from your days on the beach. The clams used for a traditional Almejas a la Espanola are called Almeja Fina, but you can of course use whatever small clams are easiest to find when you make this recipe.
Spanish Clams Ingredients
- 250 grams Baby Clams; rinsed quickly in cold water.
- 3 cloves Garlic; chopped.
- 2 Shallot; chopped.
- 1 tsp Flour
- 50 ml White Wine; dry.
- 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
- 1 bunch Parsley; chopped
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt; to taste
Instructions
- In a saucepan on medium heat add the olive oil, and when hot, add the chopped shallot until translucent. When the shallot begins to fry you can add the garlic and parsley and the clams. After a minute or so (but before the garlic burns) add the white wine and give everything a good stir.
- As the wine begins to heat up you’ll notice the clams start to open. At this point you can add the flour and paprika and give everything a good toss. As the clams continue to open keep agitating the pan to get the liquid inside the shells.
- Try the sauce and salt to taste. Toss the clams around a bit, and when all (or almost all) of the clams are open you can pour directly into a large plate/bowl and serve immediately.
Notes
When you are rinsing the clams in the beginning you want to check for any fully open and dead clams, or any clams with broken shells. Just discard these ones, better safe than sorry.
I like to serve these with some slices of fresh bread to really soak up the excess sauce that you’ll have after finishing the clams, but if you wanted to make a meal of it, you can just toss the full amount with about 250 grams of Spaghetti or other pasta an make a sort of cheat spaghetti and clams. It is actually quite similar to my stand-alone recipe for Linguini with clams.
More Shellfish Recipes To Love
- Mussels Marinara
- Gambas Al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Shrimp)
- Scallop Dumplings
- Crab Rangoons
- Cantonese Style Black Bean Shrimp (Prawns)
Spanish Clams (Almejas a la Española)
Ingredients
- 250 grams Clams baby/button
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 Shallot chopped
- 1 tsp Flour
- 60 ml White Wine dry
- 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
- 1 bunch Parsley chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a saucepan on medium heat add the olive oil, and when hot, add the chopped shallot until translucent. When the shallot begins to fry you can add the garlic and parsley and the clams. After a minute or so (but before the garlic burns) add the white wine and give everything a good stir.
- As the wine begins to heat up you’ll notice the clams start to open. At this point you can add the flour and paprika and give everything a good toss. As the clams continue to open keep agitating the pan to get the liquid inside the shells.
- Try the sauce and salt to taste. Toss the clams around a bit, and when all (or almost all) of the clams are open you can pour directly into a large plate/bowl and serve immediately.
Oh had these I Madrid last year. Soooooo good 👍 this recipes is just like that one. I will make again.