Almost Italian

Photo courtesy of Jason Perlow

Virtually all lines of inquiry have lead me to sources that agree on who invented Clams Casino. But for Almost Italian, the more burning question is yet to be definitively answered: How did Clams Casino become established on the menus of neighborhood Italian restaurants?

Research leaves little doubt that Clams Casino were created in 1917 by German-born Julius Keller, maitre d’ at The Casino on Narragansett Pier, in coastal Rhode Island. During the period, shoreline casinos were basically clubs and ballrooms, not gaming parlors. Narragansett challenged Newport as a fashionable summertime resort. It appears that a reigning socialite, Mrs. Paran Stevens, wanted something unique for a luncheon she had booked at The Casino; Mr. Keller obliged.

As to how a blue-blood caprice became so popular at red-sauce emporia, I got a hint from the July 8, 2005 edition of The Narragansett Times. Matthew Conyer, writing about the 100th anniversary of The Casino, retells the story of the invention of Clams Casino (corroborated by food historians at Johnson & Wales University). And along the way, I think Mr. Conyer gave me the answer to my question when he writes about the popular orchestras of the Big Band Era, like Tommy Dorsey and Glen Miller, coming through Narragansett to play for dances at The Casino…

At the time, Big Bands included significant numbers of Italian-American musicians: Tony Pastor (Pestritto), Louis Prima, Vido Musso, and Charlie Ventura, to name a very few. I feel perfectly comfortable with the thought that the musicians enjoyed Clams Casino in Rhode Island and took the recipe back to their Little Italy communities when they came home from the road.

The fact that Clams Casino combines bacon with shellfish and sweet red peppers suggests that Mr. Keller was familiar with Portuguese cooking, in which bivalves, shrimp, and squid are frequently married with pork, both fresh and cured. Long before Mr. Keller’s time, southeastern New England had boasted thriving fishing fleets and had been home to mariners of Portuguese descent. Large Portuguese-speaking communities remain in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, despite the decline of the fleets.

Below are two versions of Clams Casino. In the first, chopped onions and fresh red peppers are sautéed in butter before they’re combined with the remaining topping ingredients.

In the second rendition, pickled pimiento replaces fresh red pepper, and the frying step is omitted.

Clams Casino I

Ingredients:

4 Rashers (thick slices) bacon
1 Small onion, finely chopped
1 Red bell pepper, finely diced
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 Stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
24 Littleneck or Cherrystone clams, shucked and left on the half-shell
3/4 Cup breadcrumbs
3 Cups rock salt* (optional) to use as a bed for the clams
1 Lemon, quartered

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Fry the bacon strips until they just begin to become crisp. (You’ll be cooking them more in the oven.) Remove from the sauté pan and cut into approximately 1 in. pieces.

Pour off all but approximately 2 Tbs. of the fat from the sauté pan. (Note: 4 strips of bacon may not render 2 Tbs. of fat. If not, add additional butter to make 2 Tbs. in order to sauté the vegetables.)

Sauté the onions and peppers in the bacon fat until tender. Season with pepper as they’re cooking. Remove the pan from the heat and allow vegetables to cool.

In a bowl, combine 1/2 stick of the butter, the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco to taste, and the sautéed vegetables.

Melt 1/4 stick of butter in a small sauté pan. Toss the breadcrumbs in the butter, then remove from the heat.

Lay the clams in their shells on a sheet pan.^* Top each clam with a portion of the butter/vegetable mixture, followed by about 1 tsp. of the breadcrumbs. Finish by topping each clam with a piece or two of the bacon.

Bake in the middle of the oven until lightly browned and bubbling, approximately 10 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Serves four.

^* Rock salt spread 1/2 in deep on the sheet pan is useful to keep the clams balanced; it does not affect the taste or saltiness of the finished clams. The salt may be stored in an airtight container and reused.

Clams Casino II

Here’s another variation. Neither the vegetables, nor the bacon, are precooked. Instead, all ingredients are baked simultaneously. This recipe is distinguished by the inclusion of anchovy paste, which, in my opinion, really enhances the flavor of the clams.

Ingredients:

24 Cherrystone or Littleneck clams, shucked and left on the half-shell
1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 Tbs. Pimiento, julienned, then diced
4 Tbs. Green pepper, finely diced
4 Tbs. Celery, minced
1/2 Cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp. Anchovy paste
4 Rashers (thick slices) bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 Cups rock salt (optional; see recipe above)
1 Lemon, quartered

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Lay the clams in their shells on a sheet pan.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, pimiento, green pepper, celery, breadcrumbs, and anchovy paste. Spread this mixture over the open clams.

Cover each clam with a bacon piece and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling. Serve at once with lemon wedges.

Serves four.