Grilled Clams with Sambuca and Italian Sausage
4 oz. hot turkey Italian sausage (about 1/2 link)
1/4 C. finely chopped onion
1/4 C. finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 C. finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 tsp. butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1-oz.) slice day-old white bread
2 T. Sambuca or Pernod (licorice-flavored liqueur)
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Dash of salt
36 littleneck clams, cleaned
6 lemon wedges
Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, peppers, butter, and garlic to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until breadcrumbs form. Add breadcrumbs to sausage mixture; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour Sambuca into one side of skillet. Ignite Sambuca with a long match, and let flames die down. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and salt. Prepare grill to high heat. Shuck clams; discard any broken shells or shells that remain open. Place 12 clam halves on shellfish grate; discard top halves of shells. Top each with about 1 tsp. breadcrumb mixture. Place grate on grill. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until clam juice in shells boils. Remove clams from grate; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining clams and breadcrumbs. Serve with lemon wedges.
Yield: 6 servings
Calories: 120
Fat: 3.1g
Fiber: 0g