Clams Casino Pizza Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack.
• Mix the garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl. Knead the dough about 6 times on a lightly floured surface. Roll and stretch into a 12-inch round. Place the dough on a pizza peel, or another inverted baking sheet, dusted with cornmeal.
• Brush half of the garlic-oil over the dough; season with salt. Scatter the mozzarella and clams over the crust; drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved clam juice and the remaining garlic-oil. Sprinkle with the oregano, parmesan, and salt to taste. Slip the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet (the cornmeal will help it slide off). Bake until the crust is light brown, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Just before the pizza is done, drizzle the arugula with olive oil and lemon juice. Slice the pizza; top each piece with arugula and season with red pepper flakes, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat to the verge of smoking. Add the pancetta, reduce the heat to medium, and cook the pancetta until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Once cooked, remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon to paper towels and reserve. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent, 6 to 7 minutes. Once the onions are cooked, remove from the pan and toss in a bowl with the lemon juice, crab boil seasoning, butter, and parsley. Top the clams with the onion-herb mixture, reserved pancetta, and Parmesan. Place on a baking sheet and bake until the cheese has melted, 10 to 12 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate. Add the bell pepper, shallots, garlic, and oregano to the same skillet and saute until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and cool completely. Stir the reserved pancetta and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese into the vegetable mixture. Season the mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Arrange the clams in the reserved shells on the baking sheet. Spoon the vegetable mixture atop the clams, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake until the clams are just cooked through and the topping is golden, about 10 minutes.
• Arrange the clams on the platter and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, combine the clams, the reserved clam juice, olive oil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Set aside.
• Spread the pizza dough into a large oval on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and half of the Pecorino Romano. Scatter over the clam mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the dough.
• Bake until the crust is golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board and sprinkle over the remaining Pecorino Romano, some fresh oregano leaves and more red pepper flakes. Slice and serve.

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or tiles on the middle rack of your oven, and turn heat to its highest setting. Let it heat for at least an hour.
• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup of the wine, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, chop roughly and set aside.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from fat, and set aside.
• Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and half of the parsley. Continue cooking and stirring until the leeks are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Stir in the remaining wine and approximately 1 cup of the reserved clam stock (save the rest for another use), and continue cooking until the liquids have reduced almost to syrup.
• Add cream and black pepper. Let the mixture come to a bare simmer, then allow to reduce and thicken, then add reserved clams and remove from heat. (You can do all this the day before you make the pizza, then refrigerate until ready to use.)
• Make the pizza. Lightly flour a work surface, and stretch or roll the dough into a 12-inch round. Place on a lightly floured pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, lightly paint the surface of the dough with some of the cream from the clams, leaving a half-inch border all around. Then top the pizza with the chopped clams, bacon and leeks, and the cheese. (If there is any remaining liquid, you can lightly - lightly! - drizzle the pie with it.)
• Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking. (Gently lift any sections that are sticking, and sprinkle the peel with flour.) Carefully slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick, forward-and-back motion. Cook until the crust has browned on the bottom and the top is bubbling and browning in spots, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, the lemon zest and red-pepper flakes to taste, then serve.