Garlic Butter Clam and Prawn Skillet in One Pan

Few dinners come together as fast as a skillet of prawns and clams in garlic butter. The sauce is built in the same pan as the seafood, so every shell picks up the wine, the butter and the garlic. It is a simple way to get a restaurant-style plate on the table in about half an hour.

This garlic butter clam and prawn skillet is a one-pan seafood dinner built around butter, garlic and a splash of dry white wine. Raw prawns cook first in melted butter until they turn pink and opaque, then clams go in with the wine.

The wine reduces into a glossy sauce, and the clams open as they steam under a lid. Diced cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley go in at the end for freshness, and a little finely grated aged cheese finishes the plate.

Serve the dish in the skillet at the table with crusty bread to soak up every spoonful of the sauce.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

The order of the steps matters. Prawns go in first because they need a few minutes of direct heat to turn opaque, while clams need only enough heat to open. Cooking the prawns in the butter and garlic also flavours the fat before the wine goes in.

The white wine does two jobs. As it bubbles, it lifts the browned bits from the pan and reduces into a sauce that clings to the shellfish. The lid traps steam for the last minutes, so the clams open evenly without the prawns drying out in the high heat of the pan.

Notes and substitutions

Choose clams that are tightly closed or close when tapped, and discard any with cracked shells. Prawns can be bought with the shells on, which gives a richer sauce, or peeled and deveined to make the eating easier.

Both work well in this skillet, as long as the prawns are kept cold until they go into the pan.

A 12-inch cast iron skillet holds heat evenly and can go from the stovetop to the table, which is why it suits this dish. A wide stainless steel pan works too.

Keep a lid or a sheet of foil nearby for the covered step, and use a wooden spoon and tongs so the shells and prawns are moved gently.

• dry white wine: Dry vermouth or extra clam juice with a squeeze of lemon, which keeps the sauce bright without alcohol.
• unsalted butter: Salted butter; reduce the kosher salt and taste before adding more.
• aged hard cheese: Pecorino Romano or aged Asiago, grated just before serving.

Equipment

• 12-inch cast iron skillet
• Wooden cutting board
• Large chef's knife
• Box grater
• Tongs
• Wooden spoon
• Lid or foil for covering the pan