Recently, four Eddie Bauer associates discovered the outdoor joy of clam and oyster harvesting on an afternoon outing hosted by The Field Trip Society to Sound Fresh Oysters and Clams. Renowned Chef, Langdon Cook shared a few recipes from his book, Fat of the Land, to enjoy these amazing clams!
Ingredients
- 3 – 4 lbs littlenecks, scrubbed
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound chorizo
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup vermouth
- 2 heaping tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the onion, garlic, yellow pepper, and cumin seeds in olive oil over medium heat until soft, then add the chorizo and cook together a few minutes.
- Add the wine and vermouth and bring to a boil. Dump in the clams and cover.
- When the clams have opened, stir in the cilantro and serve with good bread.
Serves 2 as dinner, 4 as appetizer
Langdon Cook
Foraging is not just a throwback to our hunter-gatherer past; it’s a way to reconnect with the landscape. And Langdon Cook is not just your typical grocery cart-toting dad. For him, gourmet delicacies abound, free for the taking if we just open our eyes. As a result, he finds himself free-diving in icy Puget Sound in hopes of spearing a snaggletooth lingcod, armed with nothing more than a “Hawaiian sling.” He tempts fate by eating mushrooms that may or may not be poisonous. He strings up a fly rod to chase after sea-run trout.
He even pulls on the gardening gloves to collect stinging nettles. In wry, detailed prose, he traces his journey from wrangler of pre-packaged calories to connoisseur of coveted wild edibles. Structured around the seasons of the year, each chapter focuses on a specific food type and concludes with a recipe featuring the author’s hard-won bounty, a savory stop to each adventure-filled morsel.
Always follow regulations when harvesting shellfish
