Happy as a...

I went out the other night to the 'soft launch' of a friend's new restaurant – a bit like a dress rehearsal. The idea is that you give the restaurant kitchens and the front of house staff a chance to test out their abilities before they get let loose on paying punters. The place – Terroir, 5 William IV Street, WC2 – is just behind Charing Cross tube station and, once they've got over a few teething problems, I think it'll be a truly pleasant place for an evening out (and I'm not just saying that because it's a mate's restaurant). Mark and I tried a few of the dishes, including a steak tartare and salad of smoked duck breast with green beans and walnuts, but for me the standout dish was one of clams with ham, garlic and chilli.

I liked it so much, in fact, that I decided I wanted to try my own take on the dish, which I did last night. In fact, we liked it so much – and I got so carried away – that I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish (hence the generic picture of clams, top). Here's the recipe (Mark said it was even better than the original, but he could just be biased...)

Clams with ham, garlic, parsley and chilli for two

150g smoked bacon, preferably cut into thick slices, then cut into lardons
a skerrick of olive oil
a smear of butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
150ml white wine
150ml fish stock
600-700g clams
a large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil and butter (use as little as possible – it's just to lubricate things until the bacon fat starts rendering) in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish or saucepan, then add the lardons. Fry until the lardons are beginning to brown.

Turn the heat down low and add the chopped shallots. Fry gently until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for another half a minute.

Stir in the wine and the stock and bring to a fierce boil until the liquid has reduced by at least a third.

Lower the heat to a medium flame. Tip the clams into the pan, along with the parsley and the pepper. Stir thoroughly then place the lid on the saucepan. Cook for another few minutes, until the clams have all opened. Serve in a bowl, along with a slice or two of bread for your non-dieting beloved...