A clam pie is a savory

meat pie A meat pie is a pie baked with pastry with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, Frying, fried, or deep-fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the ...

prepared using

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams h ...

s, especially quahogs, as a primary ingredient; it is a part of the

cuisine of New England New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampa ...

. It likely predated the English settlements in Southern New England, having been a feature of indigenous peoples' diets. It can also be prepared as a type of

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

pie. White clam pie is a pizza variety that originated in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Connecticut.

Overview

A clam pie is a savory pie prepared using clams as a main ingredient. Ingredients in addition to whole or chopped clams and

pie crust Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie. ...

can include potatoes, corn, onion, celery, garlic,

clam juice Clam juice is a broth derived from steamed clams, which can be consumed on its own or used as an ingredient in various dishes and beverages. Preparation Clam juice is typically prepared from the liquid obtained from Steaming, steamed clams. Clam ...

, milk, eggs, hard-boiled eggs, butter, crushed crackers, seasonings, salt and pepper. Fresh or canned clams can be used to prepare the dish, and flour can be used to thicken the mixture. The dish is typically cooked by baking. Clam pie is a part of the

History

There is evidence that the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

tribe of present-day Southern New England and

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

ate pies made from clams before encountering English Settlers in the early 1600s. Pies had been common in medieval Europe and the English settlers to the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

cooked a variety of pies because it was a sure way to preserve foods, so it kept meats and seafood fresh through the long winters before refrigeration.

Variations and famous versions

Pizza

Clam pie can be prepared as a

pie using clams as a topping. Fresh or canned clams can be used, and the clams can be minced or whole. White clam pie is a pizza variety in

, Connecticut, and is typically prepared using pizza dough, clams, olive oil, grated Romano cheese, garlic and oregano. The dish originated at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana restaurant in the

Wooster Square Wooster Square is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, to the east of downtown. The name refers to a park square (named for the American Revolutionary War hero, David Wooster) located between Greene Street, Wooster Place, Chape ...

neighborhood of New Haven, and was first prepared there sometime in the 1950s.

Bonac Clam Pie

In Eastern

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York, there is a well-known version of clam pie, called Bonac Clam Pie, after the Bonackers, or descendants of the first white settlers of the area who settled around Accabonac Harbor. For many generations, the inhabitants of this part of East Hampton were clammers and fishermen. The recipes used here are handed down from generation to generation and thus vary in ingredients across generations and family lines.

References

External links

East End Clam Pie
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Saveur ''Saveur'' is an online gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that publishes essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews. It was started ...

''.
"Reader shares clam pie recipe from his Cape Cod mom"
''

Cape Cod Times The ''Cape Cod Times'' is a broadsheet daily newspaper serving Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, which encompasses 15 towns on Cape Cod with a year-round population of about 230,000 and a circulation of about 20,000. It is owned ...

''. {{American pies, state=collapsed Clam dishes Pizza varieties American pies