Clams with Avocado, Tamarind and Pineapple
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Unless you’re Brazilian, you mightn’t have cooked with this combination of flavours before. This a fantastic dish to use common ingredients, such as avocado and pineapple, in a new way. Cachaca is a spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice, but if you can’t source it, substitute white rum, which is made from molasses.
Recipe details
Serves: Serves 4
Protein: Clams / Shellfish
Ingredients
2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ pineapple, finely diced
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
½ teaspoon paprika
1 avocado, finely diced
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) clams (vongole)
50 ml (1¾ fl oz) cachaca (or another intense clear alcohol)
Method
In a small saucepan over a high heat, boil the tamarind pulp with an equal amount of water. Once it’s the consistency of a thin purée, strain it. Check the flavour: it should be acidic and sweet. It may need a touch of lime juice and pinch of sugar. Set aside.
Spread the pineapple out on a tray and dust with the chilli flakes and paprika and set aside. Dress the avocado with the avocado oil and set aside.
Get a large saucepan hot and add the clams and the alcohol. Put on the lid on and wait about 3 minutes until the liquid boils and the clams open. Carefully strain the clams and reserve the empty half of the shells for plating.
Place a small dot of the tamarind in each clam. Cover each clam with some pineapple on the left and some avocado on the right. Place the empty shells face down on the plates so the clams have something to sit on and serve!