1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper Salt to taste, if desired

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt to taste, if desired

1/2 cup grated cheese such as Parmesan, Gruyere or Swiss

Saffron Sauce (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut tops of broccoli into florets slightly smaller than bite size. Trim stems and cut into pieces of equal size. There should be 3 cups or slightly more in all.

Bring enough water to boil to cover broccoli pieces when they are added. Add pieces and let simmer 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Let cool.

When broccoli pieces are cool enough to handle, put them on a flat surface and chop into small pieces. There should be exactly 2 cups.

Put clams in a kettle and add wine, bay leaf and pepper. Cover closely, bring to boil and cook until clams open, about 2 minutes.

Shuck clams and reserve both cooking liquid and clams out of shell. There should be about 1 cup of clams and IV2 cups of strained liquid.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in heavy saucepan and add shallots. Cook briefly and add chopped broccoli. Stir to blend. Cover and cook over low heat about 1 minute. Set aside.

Put egg yolks and whole egg in a mixing bowl and beat. Beat in cream, milk and 1 cup of reserved liquid (the remaining 1/2 cup is to be used in the saffron sauce). Add nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Use remaining 2 teaspoons of butter to grease inside of a quiche pan or pie plate. The pan should be about 9 inches in diameter and IV2 inches deep.

Pour chopped broccoli mixture into pan and smooth it over. Scatter clams evenly over the broccoli. Pour custard mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle with cheese and place in oven.

Bake 20 minutes or slightly longer, until custard is firm throughout. Do not overcook or the pie Will toughen. . Remove pie from the oven and let stand about 4 minutes. Invert a plate over pan and turn pie out onto plate. (For appearance’s sake, you may invert a second plate on top of the pie and turn it over right side up to serve.) Cut pie into wedges and serve each portion with a small amount of the saffron sauce.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Saffron Sauce

2 T. butter

1T. finely chopped shallots

1/2 cup clam broth (see recipe for broccoli and clam pie)

1/2 tsp. thread saffron

1/4 cup heavy cream

Salt to taste, if desired

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan and add the shallots. Cook briefly, stirring occasionally, until wilted.

Add clam broth and saffron and bring to boil. Cover and cook over moderately high heat about 2 minutes or until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add cream, salt and pepper and' bring to boil.

Add remaining tablespoon of but- i ter, stirring rapidly with a wire; whisk. •