Lasagne with clams

To prepare clam lasagna, first take care of cleaning the clams. Open them by running the blade between the shells 1, collect the water contained in the shell in a small bowl 2, and collect the flesh. Place it on a cutting board and, with a meat tenderizer, pound each clam, focusing on the tougher, calloused foot (the red part), until it softens 3.

Roughly chop the clams 4, strain the collected liquid through a fine mesh sieve 5, and keep the water and flesh separate 6: note that you will need 30 ml (1 oz) of juice to cook the clams and 150 ml (5 oz) to make the béchamel.

Clean and wash the scallions, then cut them in half lengthwise, and then into thin slices 7. Brown the peeled garlic clove in a saucepan with about 2 tbsp of oil, and once it has flavored, remove the clove and let the scallions wilt over low heat for about 15 minutes, deglazing with 1 oz of the reserved clam juice 8. Then add the clams 9.

Cook them for 2 minutes over high heat 10, just long enough to evaporate the excess liquid. Also add half of the chopped chives 13, half of the thyme 12, and cook for another couple of minutes.

Stir, turn off the heat, and set aside 13. Now focus on the béchamel: start with the roux; in a saucepan, melt the butter, turn off the heat momentarily, and add the flour 14, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps 15. Return to low heat.

In another saucepan, pour the milk 16 and add the nutmeg 17 and 150 ml (5 oz) of the remaining clam water 18, bring to just below boiling over low heat,

and gradually pour it over the butter and flour roux 19, which in the meantime will have thickened over low heat, turning a hazelnut color. Stir very vigorously with a whisk 20, continuing until, after 5-6 minutes, the béchamel thickens 21.

You can now assemble your lasagna: grease a 12x8 inch baking dish with a little oil (2 tsp) 22 and then smear a few tablespoons of béchamel on the bottom 23, spreading it evenly. Now lay the first layer of egg lasagna sheets on the bed of béchamel 34, placing them side by side.

Now continue spreading a thin layer of béchamel over the egg lasagna sheets 25, then sprinkling with clams 26 and adding a sprinkle of the remaining thyme and chopped chives 27.

Then cover with more sheets of lasagna 28 and continue in the same way until you have used up the ingredients, finishing with an uncovered layer 29. Your lasagna is ready to be baked for 20 minutes in a preheated static oven at 356°F. Finally, finish the cooking with another 5 minutes in grill mode, and your clam lasagna is ready to enjoy 30!