Almejas en salsa verde are the Basque Country’s green-jacketed clams: steamed open in a parsley-loaded sauce of garlic, white wine and olive oil, lightly thickened so it clings to every shell.
The salsa verde here is nothing like the Mexican one — it is Spain’s northern classic, the same emerald sauce that dresses hake in San Sebastián’s finest kitchens, built on a delicate garlic roux.
It is a dish of technique more than ingredients: garlic never browned, flour cooked just enough, wine whisked smooth. Master those three minutes and you own a Basque classic.
Almejas en Salsa Verde Recipe
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh clams, cleaned and scrubbed
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ½ cup fish or clam stock (or water)
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, plus more to garnish
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
Cook along
Instructions
- Scrub the clams and discard any cracked or stubbornly open ones.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the garlic about 1 minute — fragrant, never browned.
- Stir in the flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes into a light roux.
- Whisk in the wine slowly to avoid lumps and simmer 2 minutes.
- Add the clams and stock, cover, and steam over medium-high 5 to 7 minutes, until open. Discard any that stay closed.
- Stir in the parsley, season, and add the lemon juice if using. Let the sauce thicken to coating consistency.
- Serve immediately, generously sauced, with crusty bread.
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