Cockles in White Wine Sauce
The Dr. requested seafood for dinner in exchange for his accompanying me to Roosevelt Island. While preparing for our meal, I entertained him with a smoked salmon appetizer. With a roasted branzino stuffed with lemon slices, I also served cockles in white wine sauce.
Ingredients:
1 bag of cockles, cleaned and scraped off
1 cup dry white wine
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of flat parsley, chopped
olive oil1. In a large pot, heat some oil and sauté garlic and shallots. Add the cockles and toss until a majority of them open up. Shake the pot to be sure that all the cockles are getting equal heat. Add white wine and cover for about 3 minutes to let the wine simmer.
2. Drain the cockles into a large bowl, saving the liquid. Discard unopened cockles. Return the liquid to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chopped parsley. Pour this sauce over the cockles and serve immediately.
Related post/s:
How about some steamer clams?
Perhaps the more familiar mussels?
Momofuku serves cockles with ham and eggs
I’ve never seen a real cockles recipe! I thought they were only sold in tiny containers on the side of the beach in Brighton, etc.
They look a lot more appetising on your food blog!
B
Hand to Mouth
Recently, I enjoyed a bivalved mollusk called “tellines” in the South of France. It was prepared “en persillade,” ie, with garlic, parsley and LOTS of butter. Our host informed us that tellines are harvested only in a relatively small area, including Ste. Marie de la Mer and Aigues-Mortes, not far from Arles. As I enjoyed them, I wondered whether we had anything comparable. Various food sources on the internet say that tellines are a breed unto themselves, but I now see them as being most like cockles.
Here is my chowhound posting on the subject, along with some photos and responses from other hounds:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/431764
When you’re in Barcelona, go to Cal Pep http://www.writingwithmymouthfull.com/2006/11/02/cal-pep-restaurant/ done in almost the same way: flash-fry in oil and sprinkled with parsley