Almejas a la Marinera
Clams in a garlic, white wine, and paprika sauce.
Ingredients
- 800 g Clams
- 4 cloves Garlic
- ½ Onion
- 150 ml White wine
- 1 tsp Pimenton dulce (sweet smoked paprika)
- 1 tbsp 00 flour
- 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp Parsley (optional)
Method
- Mince the garlic, onion, and parsley.
- Soften the onion and garlic in the oil in a wide pan until translucent.
- Stir in the flour and paprika and cook for a moment, then pour in the wine and let it bubble into a sauce.
- Add the clams, cover, and cook until they open, discarding any that stay shut.
- Scatter the parsley over and serve with bread.
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About Almejas a la Marinera
Almejas a la marinera — clams "mariner's style" — is a beloved Spanish appetizer from the country's coastal kitchens, where fresh shellfish is cooked quickly and simply to let the sea do most of the work. Clams are opened in a fragrant sauce of garlic, onion, white wine, and smoked paprika, and the whole thing comes together in about twenty minutes. It's a naturally lean, high-protein dish, served as a shared starter or light main with plenty of bread on the side, and it's as much about the sauce the clams release as the clams themselves.
The flavor is bright and briny, the clams giving up their salty liquor into the wine to build an intensely savory broth, with pimentón dulce lending a gentle smoky sweetness and warm color. A small amount of flour cooked into the sofrito thickens the sauce just enough to cling, so it coats the shells rather than sitting thin at the bottom of the pan. Cooking the clams covered until they open is both technique and quality control — any that stay shut get discarded, which is the traditional safeguard for shellfish. Finished with a scatter of parsley and eaten with bread to sop up the last of the sauce, it's coastal Spanish cooking at its most direct and satisfying.
Almejas a la Marinera: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Almejas a la Marinera?
A serving has about 320 calories — 30.6g protein, 13.3g carbs, 12.6g fat, 1.3g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 30.6g of protein, roughly 38% of its calories.
Is Almejas a la Marinera gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains 00 flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Do I need every ingredient to make Almejas a la Marinera?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out parsley — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Almejas a la Marinera make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.