Clams in Escabeche from Loreto

I have this memory from many years ago. I can't quite remember when it was, but it must have been some December at least 5 years ago. My family and I are on a beach near Loreto, a town 6 hours north of San Jose del Cabo. There is a big pit carved into the beach and they are roasting clams in the sand in front of us. There is also a squeeze bottle full of this creamy mustard-vinegar sauce. I remember standing next to my dad eating clam after clam, and thinking that this was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

I think that was the last time we were in Loreto. It is a beautiful town, where my uncle was working on a hotel and other developments to boost the town's tourism. There is a beautiful mission 1 hour into the mountains called San Javier, one of the best preserved missions in Baja, where we have gone twice. There are also marvelous beaches, and plenty of opportunities to go out whale watching. We have not been up there in many years, but I remember those clams like it was yesterday.

The other day, December 24th, my aunt and I made ceviche, a light lunch to tide us over until our Christmas dinner. I made our Coconut Vuelve a la Vida ceviche and my aunt made a delicious Tuna Ceviche with tomatoes and cilantro. They brought their ceviche food over to our hotel, so as not to dirty up their busy kitchen. What I did not expect was that when they arrived, my aunt announced that she had also brought some clams from Loreto. My heart soared. Clams from Loreto? ? Like, "THE" clams from Loreto? Yes, she said, someone gave a few containers of the clams in the mustard escabeche sauce to Brian. I cannot describe the happiness I felt. It was the same feeling of falling in love with someone and thinking that you would never see them again, only to bump into them because they have moved to your town.

The clams in mustard escabeche is what I am calling this recipe, but I really do not know what they are called in Loreto. Everyone just refers to them as "Las Almejas". The next day when I went over to my uncle's house, I told him how happy I was that he had gotten them as a gift. He said that he also loves them, but that there is no concrete recipe. It is something that is just shared "de boca en boca", or by word of mouth. If I get the chance, I would love to go up north one day and record the recipe somehow. It makes me wonder how many other recipes there are that are just passed along, but then lost to the world as people lose interest in cooking.

It also makes me realize that I have just scratched the surface of Baja cuisine. I have eaten fish tacos, scallops and marlin, but there is much more to find here in all of the towns along the peninsula. I just hope I get to eat it all!