Sausage and Clam Stew

This cozy little lull between Christmas and New Year's Eve is always one of my favorite little windows of time. Everyone is working from home in their pajamas, leaving lots of time for sipping mugs of hot tea, cooking breakfasts, sneaking in bouts of leisure reading, catching up on movies on iTunes, and cuddling with various household pets.

In short, it gives me the space and time to reflect on the past year (which, for me, was pretty momentous) and think about what I want to bring into my life in the coming months. It's important to pause sometimes and really consider all of the things you want to shed that are no longer serving you (whether they're thoughts, habits, people, old mindsets, or outdated opinions), to take stock in your current life, and to make some room for the bright and shiny new things that are undoubtedly coming your way. And if you do all that with a warming, homemade stew in front of you, all the better. xo

Sausage and Clam Stew
From Canal House Cooks Every Day, by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (any variety), sliced into thick rounds
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 pounds small clams, scrubbed (I used a mix of cockles and littlenecks)
2-3 pinches Aleppo pepper or pimenton

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the clams and Aleppo pepper, then drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Clamp the lid shut or cover the pot and cook, shaking the pan over the heat occasionally, until the clams open, 10-12 minutes. Discard any clams that don't open. Serve in wide soup bowls with warm, crusty bread for sopping up flavorful broth.