Grilled Clams with Sambuca and Italian Sausage

A vegetable grill grate can be used in place of the shellfish grate. Or buy bigger clams to set directly on the grill rack.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 6 clams and 1 lemon wedge)

Ingredients

• 4  ounces  hot turkey Italian sausage (about 1/2 link)
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped onion
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  butter
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  (1-ounce) slice day-old white bread
• 2  tablespoons  Sambuca or Pernod (licorice-flavored liqueur)
• 1/2  teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• Dash of salt
• 36  littleneck clams, cleaned
• 6  lemon wedges

Preparation

Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, peppers, butter, and garlic to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Place bread in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until breadcrumbs form. Add breadcrumbs to sausage mixture; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour Sambuca into one side of skillet. Ignite Sambuca with a long match, and let flames die down. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and salt.

Prepare grill to high heat.

Shuck clams; discard any broken shells or shells that remain open. Place 12 clam halves on shellfish grate; discard top halves of shells. Top each with about 1 teaspoon breadcrumb mixture. Place grate on grill. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until clam juice in shells boils. Remove clams from grate; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining clams and breadcrumbs. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

120 (23% from fat)

Fat:

3.1g (sat 0.8g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

15g

Carbohydrate:

6.2g

Fiber:

0.4g

Cholesterol:

44mg

Iron:

5.9mg

Sodium:

221mg

Calcium:

38mg

How to Grill (Workman, 2001) and BBQ USA (Workman, 2003), Cooking Light, AUGUST 2003