Almejas a la Sidra

Almejas a la sidra are Asturian: fresh clams opened in the region's dry natural cider over onion and garlic cooked slowly in olive oil. In Galicia next door, white wine might go into the pan. Asturias reaches for cider, and that sharp orchard fruit makes this a different dish.

It brings two Asturian larders together, shellfish from the Cantabrian coast and apples from the green country behind it. The step that decides the sauce is the sofrito, the slow onion base. Cook it low until dark gold and jammy, because its sweetness must round the cider's acidity. Rush it and the cider tastes sharp rather than bright.

Once the clams go in, stay beside the pan and lift each one out as it opens. They don't all keep the same clock, and waiting for the slowest turns the first ones tough. Return them only long enough to take on the parsley and glossy sauce. This is quick food, but it isn't unattended food.

Far from Asturias, use an unsweetened dry hard apple cider, preferably still. A dry sparkling one will do if you pour it into a jug and let it settle first, though the sauce will be a little fruitier and less tannic. Apple juice is not a substitute; it makes supper taste like pudding. The Margin beside this recipe says only, "dry cider, open clams, no dawdling." Siempre sale, si lo sigues.