Purple Varnish Clam & Mushroom Bone B
Growing up in an Italian immigrant family and living in New England generally meant that we would be spending a lot of time in the mud. Rhode Island happens to have a treasure trove of shellfish bounty found in its coastal waters, bays, and inlets.
Clamming wasn’t just a summer activity, contrary to what I thought. Clamming season in Rhode Island is from mid-September to mid-May. But those in the know understand that table quality clams are generally considered best in early summer, just prior to the July/August spawning. Most of the digging occurs from April through September. Among the quahogs are several other types of edible shellfish: blue mussels, steamers, oysters, bay scallops, surf clams, and whelks.
For us as a family, clamming was usually a great excuse to head to the beach leaving the farm behind for Narragansett, Point Judith Pond, and the muddy bays and estuaries that get plenty of tidal flow. Galilee Escape Road here we come, shellfish are part of who we are as islanders. Fast forward 30 years and I now do all my clamming on the west coast, in the Pacific Northwest to be exact. Although we do have razor clams in New England, they are nothing like those here in Washington and Oregon. And the quahog gave way to the ever-so-phallic geoduck.
As a young chef I knew from the study of the middens that these delicious bivalves and shellfish delicacies could not possibly continue to be an infinite source of food. To me that meant that we needed to start eating a more varied and diverse source of shellfish, including some of the invasive species we weren’t really familiar with. Enter the purple varnish clam (a.k.a. the dark mahogany clam, savory clam, or technically, nuttalia obscurata).
I was first introduced to the purple vanish clam on the Oregon coast many years ago. Its outer shell is covered with a thick brownish peeling layer, its inner shell is a rich royal purple, a very distinct clam. I personally have found that purple varnish clams have a good strong clam flavor and tender flesh if not over-cooked, somewhere between a little neck clam and a muscle. And although it is considered an invasive species here in the Pacific Northwest, the species at hand is simply just the wrong creature in the wrong place at the right time.
Nothing beats hanging out on the beach, getting super stoned, and digging clams. Which usually leads to a campfire on the beach and a beautiful sunset, eating clams and enjoying life.
Recipe: Purple Varnish Clam, Wild Nettle, and Mushroom Bone Broth Ramen
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
YIELD: 2 bowls
TOTAL THC/CBD: Depends on the potency of the products used
STATUS: a bowl of noods
FROM THE PANTRY: Cannabis-infused soy sauce, cannabis infused sesame oil
STRAIN RECOMMENDATION: Larrycake by Freddy’s Fuego (Gelato x Wedding Cake)
EQUIPMENT
- 2 small sauté pans
- 2 small saucepans
- Medium saucepan
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Tongs
- Ladle
- 2 hungry health-conscious stoners
- 2 ramen bowls
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tsp. lion’s mane mushroom powder (optional)
- 1 tsp. chaga mushroom powder (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. dry wild mushroom mix (crushed into small pieces)
- 3 cups light chicken stock
- 1 Tbsp. chili paste
- 1 Tbsp. cannabis infused soy sauce (made in the MB2e)
- 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger (chopped fine)
- 10 medium shitake mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. cannabis infused soy sauce (made in the MB2e)
- 4 oz. wild stinging nettles or spinach (available at most farmers markets)
- 1 tsp. vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 14 small fresh purple varnish clams
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp. cannabis infused soy sauce (made in the MB2e)
- 6 oz. cooked ramen noodles
- ½ cup green onions (chopped fine)
- 2 tsp. cannabis infused sesame oil (made in the MB2e)
- 2 tsp. chili oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- To make the broth: in the large saucepan add the bone broth, mushroom powders, crumbled dry mushrooms, chili paste, soy sauce, and ginger and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring well to dissolve mushroom powders. Set aside.
- To wilt the nettles: heat the oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat until almost smoking hot. Add the nettles, and the water and wilt nettles stirring occasionally for one minute. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
- To marinate the shitakes: heat oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté shitakes about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, marinate in the soy sauce, and set aside.
- To steam the clams: in a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, steam the clams in the water until they open (about 3 minutes). Set aside.
- To arrange your ramen situation: divide the cooked noodles into the two large ramen bowls, add five marinated shitakes to each bowl, add 7 cooked clams to each bowl, with 2 oz. of wilted nettles, and then fill each bowl with equal amounts of broth. Top each ramen with equal amounts of chopped green onions as well as a drizzle of chili and sesame oil.
- Enjoy while hot.
