Almejas en salsa verde is delightful Spanish tapa that showcases the simple and vibrant flavors of Spain! Clams in green sauce is a true culinary gem that hails from the beautiful Basque region of Spain, where fresh clams are sauteed with rich olive oil, white wine and fresh parsley, creating a light and quick green sauce. This irresistible dish will certainly transport your taste buds to the sun-kissed shores of Spain!
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About This Recipe
Almejas en salsa verde translates to clams in green sauce in Spanish. These Spanish style steamed clams were one of our favorite dishes we had in the Basque region of Spain, where tapas are called "pintxos".
Unlike clams in a garlic butter sauce, these Basque style clams are made with rich olive oil and flour as a thickening agent. The salsa verde is made simply with lots of fresh parsley that saute in the olive oil and garlic sauce, giving the clams a light and fresh flavor.
Serve clams in green sauce alongside shrimp in garlic sauce (Gambas al Ajillo) and cheese stuffed padron peppers for a fun tapas spread!
🌿 Recipe Highlights
- Quick and easy tapa made in less than 15 minutes!
- Uses simple and fresh ingredients!
- Steamed clams cooked without butter and instead, use rich and flavorful olive oil.
📋 Ingredients
- Clams: Look for littleneck clams, Manilla clams or "steamers" which are a little larger than the other two varieties. In Spain, you'll also find razor clams which are long and narrow. Clams should always be kept cold on ice and cooked the same day as purchased.
- Garlic and Onion: Both used as aromatics to flavor the green sauce. For the onion, use any that you have, either yellow or red onion.
- Olive Oil: Spain has some of the best olive oil and if you want to keep it as authentic as possible, look for a flavorful Spanish extra virgin olive oil.
- Flour: All you need is a small amount of all-purpose flour to thicken the sauce. You cna also use a gluten free all-purpose flour blend that should work well.
- White Wine: Use a white wine that you enjoy drinking but if you do need a suggestion, add a crisp dry white wine to the clams, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or Vinho Verde.
- Water or Seafood Stock: Use either water or a flavorful homemade shellfish stock to give the green sauce more of a saucy consistency.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Optional, but highly recommended. If you like a little spice, add a good pinch of red pepper flakes but if you prefer no heat, leave out and the steamed clams will still be absolutely delicious and flavorful!
- Fresh Parsley: The other star of the recipe that gives the clams it's signature fresh green sauce. I prefer to use tender flat leaf parsley also called Italian parsley.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
💦 How to Clean Clams Before Cooking
Now before we get into the steaming, let's talk about how to properly clean clams first. Honestly, it takes longer to clean clams then to cook them, but worth it so you don't bite into a hard piece of sand.
- Once you bring home the clams, place them on ice and leave in the fridge until you're ready to cook them later (usually on the same day).
- 30 minutes before you're ready to cook, place the clams in a large bowl of cold tap water. This help the clams spit out any sand that may be inside.
- Right when you're ready to cook, use a clam brush or something similar and scrub the outside of each clam. Then, you're ready to cook!
Once you master how to clean clams (again, easy, just a bit time consuming), you're ready to cook them in any which way. Such as in my linguine with clams or seafood and chorizo paella.
⏲️ Instructions
Step 1. Bring a wide skillet to medium heat and add olive oil and diced onion. Saute for about 4-5 minutes until caramelize. Stir the garlic and red pepper flakes in and continue sauteing for another 2 minutes until the garlic begins to caramelize.
Step 2. Add the flour and saute the flour into the olive oil to form a paste. Pour in the white wine, a cup of water lemon juice, chopped parsley and season with salt and bring the sauce up to a simmer.
Step 3. Add the cleaned fresh clams to the sauce and continue cooking until the clams just open up, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 4. If the sauce is thin, remove the clams and continue simmering the sauce until slightly thickened and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
Step 5. To serve, place the clams in a bowl and pour green sauce over and garnish with extra fresh parsley.
📍 Recipe Tips
- Discard any clams that have broken or cracked shells.
- Soak the clams in cold water with a bit of salt to discard any sand inside the clams.
- Fresh clams will give off extra water when simmering, so if the sauce is too thin, remove the clams once they're open and continue simmering the sauce until thickened.
Serving Suggestions
Clams in green sauce are often served as a tapa or pintxo with other small bites to share. Here are a few more tapas suggestions to serve alongside.
To drink serve the tapas with a dry cider called Cidre or Txakoli.
Recipe FAQs
Look for manilla clams, littleneck or steamers that are all great to steam with garlic and wine. If you can find razor clams, those are long and narrow and have great flavor.
More Delicious Clam Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Clams in Green Sauce (Almejas en Salsa Verde)
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- 24 clams
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons Olive oil
- ¼ yellow or red onion diced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves chopped + more for garnish
Instructions
- First clean your clams. Allow them to soak in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes. Then take each clam and use a Clam Brush or something similar to clean the outside shell. A good tip is to not pour out the clams and water, instead remove them one by one. You can then allow to to sit in another bowl while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Bring a wide skillet to medium heat and add olive oil and diced onion. Sauté for about 4-5 minutes until lightly caramelized. Stir the garlic and red pepper flakes in and continue sauteing for another 2 minutes until the garlic begins to caramelize.
- Add the flour and saute the flour into the olive oil to form a paste. Pour in the white wine, a cup of water, lemon juice, chopped parsley and season with salt and bring the sauce up to a simmer.
- Add the cleaned fresh clams to the sauce and continue cooking until the clams just open up, about 5-7 minutes. If the sauce is thin, remove the clams and continue simmering the sauce until slightly thickened and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- To serve, place the clams in a bowl and pour green sauce over and garnish with extra fresh parsley.
Notes
- This recipe is enough for 4 tapas, which is about 6 clams per person. You can adjust the amount of clams per person as needed.
- Discard any clams that have broken or cracked shells.
- Soak the clams in cold water with a bit of salt to discard any sand inside the clams.
- Fresh clams will give off extra water when simmering, so if the sauce is too thin, remove the clams once they're open and continue simmering the sauce until thickened.
BrightLemonyKitchen says
We had something like this at a Spanish Restaurant. We followed this recipe exactly and it was better than the restaurant. I scrubbed and cleaned the clams and then Barely cooked them and they were perfect. I think the restaurant overcooked the ones we had. Thank you Chef Samantha.
Donald Klein says
Delicious! Better than Italian clams and linguine.
Samantha says
Thank you!!
mobasir hassan says
I am truly impressed and appreciate the way you made this wonderful recipe. Seafood has so many heath benefits and we love to eat lots of them like crabs, lobster and prawns. Looking forward for more such healthy recipes in future too.
Soni says
Such a beautiful dish and a lovely recipe too 🙂 Love Clams and totally going to try your recipe!
Samantha says
Thanks Soni!! Let me know when you try it!!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
It is always fun to recreate a dish from your travels. Your recipe sounds terrific, flavorful but still lets the fresh clams taste shine through.
Samantha says
Thank you so much Karen!
Susan says
Oh my, love everything about this! Spain is our next trip after Italy and I can't wait to eat my wait in tapas, cheese and spanish ham!
Cindys Recipes and Writings says
I love clams served this way! Yours look so inviting, Samantha!
Manu says
YUUUUMMMMM! Amazing tapa! I often find the most simple recipes to be the most scrumptious! 🙂 You made me miss Spain... terribly! sigh!
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
I felt like I was with you at the restaurant. And now I can even make the same dish!