White Wine Clams with Fennel, Shiitake, Pancetta, and Miracle Rice

"This dish has date night written all over it. Its flavors are rich yet bright, and has a comforting yet gourmet quality about it. I first had a similar dish at an Italian/seafood restaurant, then again at my buddy Alex’s place, and I fell in love! I think you will too, try my recipe below."

Recipe by Chris Bautista AKA @bautistud on Instagram.

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4

2- 8 oz packets of Miracle Rice
2 lbs of fresh clams
1 cup of sliced fennel
1/3 cup of sliced shallots
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 1/4 cups of sliced shiitake mushrooms 
2 cups of cubed pancetta 
1/2 tbsp fennel seeds 
1 tbsp of red chili flakes 
1 1/4 cup of dry white wine 
4 tbsp of butter 
1 cup chicken stock
1 lemon 
Freshly chopped parsley (garnish)
Grated Parmesan Cheese (garnish) - place clams in a bowl of cold, fresh water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place clams in a bowl of cold, fresh water.

2. Prepare Miracle Rice according to package and set aside.

3. In a large saucepan, sauté pancetta on med-high heat (no cooking oil necessary) for about 7 minutes, or until crispy. - Remove pancetta (set aside), drain most of the drippings from the pan, leaving about a tbsp of fat.

4. Add fennel, shallots, fennel seeds, and chili flakes to the pan, sauté for 5 minutes on med-high heat.

5. Add garlic and mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes - Add white wine, bring to a boil, and stir continuously till it reduces (about 8 minutes).

6. Add butter and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Add sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper (roughly a tbsp of each). Stir for 5 minutes. - Add Miracle Rice and clams, bring to a boil.

7. Cover saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and turn heat down to a simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes, or until all the clams have opened up. Squeeze 1 lemon over the top.

8. Serve in a bowl with the broth on the base, and the pancetta, chopped parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!