Garlic Butter Clams and Prawns Skillet with White Wine

Imagine a cast iron skillet arriving at the table, the garlic butter still bubbling around clams that have just popped open and plump prawns glistening in golden sauce. This one-pan seafood dinner comes together in about 25 minutes, with little cleanup and a sauce you will want to spoon over every bite of bread.

This garlic butter clams and prawns skillet is a white wine seafood dish built around one simple idea: cook the shellfish in the same pan where the garlic butter is made, so every shell and every prawn picks up that flavor. Start by preparing the littleneck clams, prawns, cherry tomatoes, parsley and garlic, then grate the hard cheese into a light, fluffy pile.

The cooking itself moves quickly, from melted butter and fragrant garlic to a splash of white wine, then the prawns, then the clams. The finished skillet is served straight from the pan, with a dusting of cheese and fresh parsley over the top. It works well as a weeknight dinner for two, or as a relaxed meal with bread and a green salad.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

The method starts with butter and garlic because they build a sauce base before any seafood touches the pan. Melting the butter gently and cooking the garlic only until fragrant gives a sweet, golden flavor instead of a sharp, bitter one.

This foundation is what makes the dish taste rich without requiring a long list of ingredients, and it is the reason the sauce tastes finished even before the shellfish goes in.

White wine does two jobs in this dish. Simmering it for a minute or two lifts the browned bits from the pan and reduces the liquid slightly, which concentrates its acidity and aroma.

That acidity balances the butter and keeps the sauce from feeling heavy. The wine also creates the steaming liquid that opens the clams, so it is more than a flavoring: it is the cooking medium for the whole dish.

Notes and substitutions

Choose littleneck clams that are tightly closed or only slightly open, and discard any that do not close when tapped. Scrub them under cold water before cooking. Raw prawns should be fully peeled and deveined, and they cook quickly, so buy them shortly before you plan to cook. Keep both shellfish in the refrigerator until the skillet is ready.

A 12-inch cast iron skillet is ideal because it holds heat evenly and goes straight from stove to table. A lid or sheet of foil helps the clams open in a few minutes, and a large chef's knife and a handheld rasp grater make the prep quick.

For the cheese, use a hard, aged variety such as Parmesan, which grates finely and melts into the sauce. Pecorino Romano is a saltier alternative, so reduce the added salt if you use it.

• dry white wine: clam juice or chicken broth, with a teaspoon of lemon juice added
• hard cheese: Pecorino Romano or aged Asiago, finely grated
• littleneck clams: Manila clams, scrubbed and cooked the same way

Equipment

• 12-inch cast iron skillet
• large chef's knife
• cutting board
• handheld rasp grater
• wooden spoon
• lid or large sheet of foil