Clams Posillipo gets its name from a residential area that is part of the city of Naples. The Neapolitans love their seafood just as much as their pizza and famous Neapolitan meat ragu dishes. This dish was one of Frank Sinatra’s favorites, he just loved it. So if you want to eat like Sinatra, or simply relive memories of Naples or the Amalfi Coast, here’s the recipe. Every nonna in Naples knows how to make it very well. Make it and enjoy. 

Ingredients :

3 dozen Littleneck Clams, washed and scrubbed

5 tablespoons Olive Oil

6 cloves of Garlic, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each 

1 – 28 ounce can San Marzano Plum Tomatoes

¼ cup fresh Parsley, washed and chopped

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Bay Leaf

¼ cup dry White Wine

9 slices of Italian Bread

5 cloves of Garlic, peeled and left whole

Toast all the bread on both sides under the broiler in your oven. Be careful not to burn. Remove the bread and set on a plate. Take one whole clove of peeled garlic and rub each side of the bread with the garlic.

Place the Olive Oil and the chopped Garlic in a large frying pan. Cook for 3 minutes on medium heat.

Lower the flame to low, add the Red Pepper and cook on low heat for 1 minute, stirring with a spoon. 

Turn heat to high. Remove  the tomatoes two at a time with a fork and place into the pan. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the Sea Salt and Black Pepper, and mix with the spoon.

Add the juices from the tomato can into the pan. Fill the empty tomato can with water and pour into the pan. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes. Make sure you stir from time to time with a wooden spoon.

Put a large pot that has a cover on the stove. Add the wine and 4 cloves of whole garlic to pot and turn heat on to high.

Add ½ cup of water and the Bay Leaf to the pot. Bring the water up to the boil. Add all the Clams to the pot and cook on high heat until all the Clam Shells open (about 4-5 minutes). Turn the heat off and remove all the clams to a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes and all the juice to the pot with the clam liquid. Cook on high heat for 4 minutes. Add half of the chopped parsley and mix.

Place 3 slices each of the toasted bread around 3 pasta bowls. Divide half of the tomatoes among the 3 plates.

Place 12 clams in each of the 3 bowls. Pour the remaining tomatoes over the 2 plates of clams. Sprinkle a little olive oil over each plate. Sprinkle the remaining parsley over all the calms. Serve immediately. “Enjoy, you’re eating like Frank. Sinatra that is.”

Note : You can make Mussels Posillipo, simply by substituting Mussels for the Calms. Or you can make the dish using half Clams and half Mussels.

Note II : If you like your dishes spicy hot, add more Red Pepper Flakes to the recipe.