Caleta Portales · Grilled Razor Clams
Machas a la Parmesana
Photo: Chirigua100 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Despite the Italian-sounding name, the dish was invented in Chile, not Italy — parmesan was simply the fanciest cheese a Valparaíso cook could reach for.
Razor clams on the half shell are topped with butter, white wine, and grated parmesan, then flashed under a grill until bubbling. Stalls at Valparaíso's Caleta Portales fish market serve them by the dozen straight off the coals.
Why it's made this way: The clams are dug from the cold waters off Valparaíso's coast, and the dish is inseparable from the port's caletas (fishing coves), where it was popularized.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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