- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- 3 (10-ounce) cans minced clams
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 4 drops hot pepper sauce
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
- Salt to taste
- 2 pints light cream or half-and-half
- ½ lemon
- Paprika
- Finely snipped fresh dill
- Finely snipped watercress leaves
- In a 2-quart saucepan, melt all but 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, but don’t let it brown. Strain the clams through a sieve and reserve the clam broth. When the butter is melted, stir in the thyme, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and salt. Cook for a minute, then add the clam broth and turn the heat to high, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches a boil.
- Lower the heat and add the cream, stirring—be careful not to let the cream boil. When the cream is hot, add the clams, stir again, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Ladle the stew into 4 heated bowls. Squeeze a little lemon juice into each bowl.
- Divide the remaining butter in quarters and drop a piece in the center of each portion.
- Sprinkle a ring of paprika around the butter and add an outer ring of the snipped greens. Serve immediately.