Steamed Mussels and Clams with Two Sauces

A large collapsible metal vegetable steamer set inside a Dutch oven works best for this recipe, as that setup can accommodate a large volume of shellfish. Littleneck clams are more tender and succulent than larger varieties. The steaming liquid is discarded, so it adds fragrance but no sodium. You can serve just one of the sauces, but we enjoy the variety of two. For the cocktail sauce, use the chili sauce sold alongside ketchup at the grocery store, not fiery Asian chili/chile sauce.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 7 mussels, 4 clams, 2 1/2 teaspoons cocktail sauce, and 1 1/4 teaspoons chive butter)

Ingredients

• Cocktail sauce:
• 1/4  cup  bottled chili sauce
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  minced fresh dill
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  prepared horseradish
• 
  Chive butter:
• 2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 2  tablespoons  minced fresh chives
• 
  Shellfish:
• 2  cups  white wine
• 2  tablespoons  Old Bay seasoning
• 24  littleneck clams
• 2  pounds  mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Preparation

1. To prepare cocktail sauce, combine chili sauce, juice, dill, and horseradish in a small bowl.

2. To prepare chive butter, combine butter and chives in a small bowl; cover and keep warm.

3. To prepare shellfish, place wine and Old Bay in a large Dutch oven; set a large vegetable steamer in pan. Bring wine mixture to a boil over high heat.

4. Add clams to steamer. Steam clams, covered, for 8 minutes. Add mussels to steamer. Steam mussels and clams, covered, for 8 minutes or until clam and mussel shells open. Discard any unopened shells, and discard wine mixture. Serve shellfish immediately with sauces.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

196 (32% from fat)

Fat:

6.9g (sat 2.9g,mono 1.6g,poly 1g)

Protein:

22.5g

Carbohydrate:

9.6g

Fiber:

0.1g

Cholesterol:

65mg

Iron:

14.9mg

Sodium:

699mg

Calcium:

66mg