Clams Oreganato with Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

1 dozen clams
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups loosely packed young Swiss chard, rinsed thoroughly
1 tablespoon capers
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves removed from stems

Procedure:

Begin by soaking the clams in a large bowl of water for 20 minutes to rinse. The clams will suck in the clean water and spit out sand and some salt. While the clams are soaking, prep your other ingredients and have them standing by. Pour yourself a glass of wine while you’re at it. You’ve probably had a long day. 15 minutes into the clams’ 20 minute soak, begin cooking. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot (with a lid you can throw on later) over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine. Now that the clams are done with their 20 minute soak, remove the clams from the bowl by hand and place them in the pot with the onions and garlic. (Do not dump the clams and their soaking water into a strainer. There will be a bunch of sand on the bottom of the bowl and dumping the whole lot into a strainer will re-coat the clams in sand!). Immediately place a lid on the pot and cook for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, the clams should be starting to open. If none of the clams are open yet, replace lid and cook for another two minutes, then check again. Once the clams have begun to open, throw in the capers and lay the Swiss chard on top, then cover once again. Cook for 1-2 minutes, steaming the chard on top of the clams. Plate and serve, ladling the liquid from the pot over the clams and chard, and garnishing with a pinch of red pepper flakes and several pinches of fresh oregano. Serve with some fresh French or Italian bread and use it to sop up the broth.