Prawns, Scallops + Clams with Tomato + Feta

from Jerusalem: A Cookbook

via Anne Halsted

serves 4 as starter

1 cup white wine

2¼ pounds clams, scrubbed

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to finish

3½ cups peeled and chopped Italian plum tomatoes (fresh or canned)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons chopped oregano

1 lemon

½ pound tiger prawns, peeled and deveined

½ pound large scallops, cut in half horizontally

4 ounces feta cheese, broken into ¾ inch chunks

3 green onions, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the wine in a medium saucepan and boil until reduced by three-fourths.  Add the clams, cover immediately with a lid, and cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the clams open.  Transfer to a fine sieve to drain, capturing the cooking juices in a bowl.  Discard any clams that do not open, then remove the remainder from their shells, leaving a few with their shells to finish the dish, if you like.

Preheat the oven to 475° F. In a large frying pan, cook the garlic in the olive oil over medium high heat for about 1 minute, until golden.  Carefully add the tomatoes, clam liquid, sugar, oregano and some salt and pepper.  Shave off 3 zest strips from the lemon, add them and simmer gently for 20 – 25 minutes until the sauce thickens.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Discard the lemon zest.

Add the prawns and scallops, stir gently, and cook for just a minute or two.  Fold in the shelled clams and transfer everything to a small ovenproof dish.  Sink the feta pieces into the sauce and sprinkle with the green onion.  Top with some clams in their shells, if you like, and place in the oven for 3 – 5 minutes, until the top colors a little and the prawns and scallops are just cooked.  Remove the dish from the oven, squeeze a little lemon juice on top, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Easy and delicious seafood stew, also good as a main course with either rice, couscous, or toasted French bread.  For a party, cook everything ahead up to adding the prawns and scallops, chill the cooked clams, then reheat and put everything together at the last minute.