Clam Stovies is a traditional Scottish recipe for a classic dish of clam meats and sliced potatoes layered in a baking dish and baked in clam cooking liquor and butter. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Scottish version of: Clam Stovies.
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This was traditionally made with clams harvested in sea lochs. Today, clams are farmed in the same lochs and grown on ropes.
Ingredients:
2.5l clams
3x the weight of the shelled clam meats in potatoes
oil, for greasing
flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish
50g butter
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Scrub the clams thoroughly then put in a large bowl of fresh, cold, water and set aside to soak over night (this will help clean the sand and detritus from them).
Pre-heat your oven to 190C. Drain the clams, transfer to a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, season with a little salt and simmer for a few minutes, or until the shells open. Drain the clams, setting aside to cool (preserve the cooking liquor).
When the clams can be safely handled remove the meats from the shells (discard the shells). Weigh the clam meats then select three times their weight in potatoes. Peel the potatoes, wash and slice thinly.
lightly-grease the base and sides of a flameproof baking dish. Arrange a layer of potatoes in the base then add a layer of clams. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Repeat the layering until all the ingredients are used up, making sure you finish with a layer of potatoes.
Season the top of the dish lightly then pour in enough of the reserved clam cooking liquor to come about half way up the insides of the dish. Dot the butter over the top then bring to a boil on the hob. Transfer to your pre-heated oven and bake for 2 hours, until the top is golden brown.
Serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley.
Instead of clams, this can be made with just about any other shellfish (or with prawns).
