Clams with Portuguese Sausage, Garlic, and Cilantro

There is nothing like sitting by sea in the most beautiful day at the most beautiful place. That place for me is the south of Portugal and the little sea town of Armação de Pêra. The first time I visited Portugal, I fell in love with the food, especially the delicious bowl of clams I had, (cadelinhas) or small clams as they call them, in the most beautiful, delicate, succulent lemon-garlic broth. We sat there by the sea with just bread, a bowl of clams, and a few Portuguese beers.

Since then I have always made clams in my house to bring back those memories. When I saw this recipe for clams with chouriço, garlic, and cilantro, I had to try it. Just simple ingredients and, the best part, Portuguese chouriço.

When cooking, within seconds the smell made both my husband and I ready to eat. The portions would have been enough for 4 people as an appetizer. Since it was just the 2 of us, I made it our main dinner dish.

I was surprised at how much broth it made. I was worried that by not having wine or any other liquid there wasn’t going to be any broth to dunk the bread in because that’s the best part.

Second, I was concerned about the amount of cilantro. I guess this all depends on the size of one’s hand and therefore I was hoping it wasn’t too much. It really was not a lot, it was perfect.

The squeeze of lemon was the perfect amount and the chouriço made it salty enough so no salt was needed. The flavor had a subtle punch to it. The garlic, because it was sliced instead of chopped, made it so much more delicate.

I had made a simple salad and we paired this with a crisp and chilled Pinot Grigio. It was the perfect ending to a busy week. I will be making these again and again.