Baked Clams with Wasabi Bread Crumbs

Clams Casino are ubiquitous—and often mediocre— baked stuffed clams. These are far more interesting and just as easy. Serve with Cold SobaNoodles withDipping Sauce and thick tomato slices and you have a meal.Or they make relatively fancy appetizers or party food. Other seafood you can use: shucked mussels or oysters (cut the recipe in half if you like).

24 clams, well washed

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

2 cups panko

2 teaspoons wasabi powder, or to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1/4 cup soy sauce, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges for serving

• Heat the oven to 450 F. Shuck the clams, reserving half the shells and as much of the liquor as possible. (If you’re not confident about shucking, steam the clams lightly, removing them the second their shells begin to open and preserving as much of their liquid as possible.
• You can also microwave, again removing them the second they begin opening.) Chop the clams (I suggest by hand, but you can use a mini food processor if you are careful not to overprocess).
• Heat the sesame oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the panko and cook, stirring, just until the crumbs begin to brown a bit. Add the wasabi and cook, stirring, until fragrant, just a minute or two.
• Off the heat, stir in the chives. Add the reserved liquor and the soy sauce, a little at a time, to moisten the mixture.
• Fold in the chopped clam meat and taste, adding more wasabi, soy, or a sprinkle of salt and pepper as needed.
• Stuff the shells with this mixture, put them on a baking sheet or roasting pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm, with lemon wedges.

MAKES: 4 main-dish or 6 to 8 appetizer servings

TIME: About 1 hour