• 12 fresh New Jersey littleneck clams
• salt
• cornmeal or all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fine bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped roasted red sweet pep-per
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped pancetta or bacon
• dry white wine
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

2. Preheat a broiler. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the top-ping and mix well. 

3. Working over a bowl to catch any clam juice, open clams, cutting the flesh from the shell cavi-ty to make it easier to lift out when eating. Leave the whole clam meat in one of its shells and discard the other shell. 

4. Spoon equal amount of topping on each clam. Drizzle clam juice from the bowl over the topping and sprinkle lightly with wine to keep the clams moist and prevent them from burning. Place in a flameproof baking dish 9 inches from the broiler. Broil for about 6 minutes, watching carefully to be sure the topping does not burn. If it browns too quickly, move farther from the flame and add a little more clam juice or wine before returning them to the oven. Serve hot with lemon wedges. 

(Modified from Antipasti, the Little Dishes of Italy by Julia Della Croce, 1993, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA)