Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato

Named after Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato (1828–1912), a Portuguese poet and gourmand, named in his honor in the second half of the 19th c. Though a celebrated gourmand, Bulhão Pato most likely did not create the dish himself — by the common account a cook (whom the poet had mentioned in his writing) developed it and named it as a tribute, so his name survives through clams more than through his verse; what's clear is that by 1900 it was a fixed Lisbon-restaurant dish, and the cilantro-garlic-wine triad became a template for Portuguese shellfish cooking generally.

Named for poet-gourmand Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato (1828–1912), allegedly built at his Lisbon table in the late 19th c. Cooked clams open at 80–85 °C; lid on a hot pan, off the heat the second most shells gape. Cilantro goes in off-heat so the volatiles don't cook off.

A bowl of small clams in their shells, sitting in a few centimeters of broth — olive oil, white wine, sliced garlic, a fistful of chopped cilantro, lemon wedges on the side. Spoon up the broth or sop with bread; the clams are eaten by hand. Nothing is thickened, nothing is reduced; the dish is finished in 4–5 minutes from cold pan to table.

Cooked clams open at 80–85 °C; if heat goes too high or too long, the muscle contracts and the meat shrinks rubbery. The trick is a hot pan, lid on, removed from heat the instant most shells gape — usually under 4 minutes. Cilantro goes in off the heat so its volatiles don't cook off. Discard any clam that didn't open: it was already dead before cooking.