Garlic Butter Clams and Prawns in White Wine, One Skillet in Minutes

Garlic sizzling in melted butter, a splash of white wine hitting the hot pan, and clams beginning to pop open within minutes. This garlic butter clams and white wine prawn skillet comes together in one cast iron pan, ready to spoon over crusty bread in about half an hour from start to finish.

This dish brings together two of the most rewarding shellfish to cook at home: sweet prawns and fresh clams. Both cook in the same garlic butter sauce, so the whole dinner stays in one black cast iron skillet. Fresh garlic goes in first to perfume the butter, then white wine turns the fat into a light, savory broth.

The clams open as they steam, the prawns turn pink and curl, and the liquid reduces into a glossy sauce that clings to every shell. Parsley and lemon brighten the pan at the end, and a sprinkle of grated hard yellow cheese adds a salty finish on top.

It is a simple, fast seafood supper that looks impressive on the table and needs only a cutting board, a knife and one pan to make.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

Melting butter first and adding garlic to it gives the fat a clean, aromatic base. Garlic cooks quickly, so it needs only about a minute to turn fragrant. Browning it would make the sauce bitter, which is why the heat stays at medium and the garlic is watched closely from the first sizzle.

White wine does two jobs in this skillet. Its acidity cuts through the richness of the butter, and its liquid steams the clams open from the inside.

As the wine and the clam juices simmer and reduce, they thicken with the butter into a glossy sauce that coats the prawns. Covering the pan for the first minutes traps the steam, so the clams open evenly and quickly without overcooking the prawns.

Notes and substitutions

Choose clams that are tightly closed or close when tapped, and scrub them under cold running water just before cooking. Discard any that stay open or have cracked shells. Prawns cook in only a few minutes, so buy them peeled and deveined to save time at the cutting board. Dry white wine works best because a sweet wine makes the sauce taste heavy.

You need a wide skillet with a lid so the clams sit in one layer and open evenly. A cast iron pan holds heat well and keeps the sauce hot for serving. A box grater makes fine shreds of the hard yellow cheese, which melt slightly into the sauce.

A chef's knife and a wooden board are enough for the garlic, parsley and tomatoes. If you skip wine, clam juice or broth with a little lemon juice gives a similar savory base.

• dry white wine: clam juice or chicken broth with a teaspoon of lemon juice, for a non-alcoholic version
• hard yellow cheese: finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
• fresh clams: mussels, scrubbed and debearded, cooked the same way

Equipment

• Black cast iron skillet with lid
• Chef's knife
• Wooden cutting board
• Box grater
• Colander
• Wooden spoon or tongs