Name: White Bean and Clam Casserole (Pochas con Almejas)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika; ½ small dried chile, such as arbol, crumbled, or ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; ⅓ cup bottled calm juice; 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped; 3 whole medium-size garlic cloves, smashed, plus 6 garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press; 1 medium-size onion, cut in half, plus 1 small onion, finely chopped; ¼ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley; 1 large Italian (frying) pepper, or 1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced; 2 pounds small clams, such as littlenecks or cockles, scrubbed; ½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1¾ cups small dried white beans, such as cannellini or navy, soaked overnight or quick-soaked and drained; 1 large carrot, diced; ¼ cup dry white wine; 1 small bay leaf

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The New Spanish Table

By Anya von Bremzen

Published 2005

About

Traditionally during Lent when meat was prohibited, beans were paired with clams or salt cod rather than chorizo or salt pork. The bean-and-clam combination proved so addictive that these days it’s a year-round staple at seafood restaurants along the Cantabrian coast in the north. I order the dish whenever I can, and when I can’t, I make it at home because this is one of my one-pot favorites.