Recipes

A table full of shells and all of them prepared differently. Grilled razor clams with a dressing of red onion, shallots and white wine vinegar. Cockles stir-fried briefly with tomato, garlic and basil. And finally the venus clams - stewed in white wine and cream. Serve with white wine, crusty bread and creamy butter. Can it get any better?

Grilled razor clams

Mix the red onion and the shallot in a bowl with 120 millilitres of white wine vinegar and half of the flat-leaf parsley. Put a grill pan on the stove so that it gets extremely hot. Open the razor clams. Move a sharp knife along the inside of the shell so that the meat is not damaged. Dry carefully and brush with olive oil. Put the razor clams on their inside on the hot grill. Turn them over after 30 seconds and grill the shell side for 30 seconds. Arrange the razor clams on a dish, drizzle with olive oil and some of the white wine vinegar with onion and flat-leaf parsley.

Stir-fried cockles

Heat a large dash of olive oil in a wok and fry the 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, with the basil stalks. Make sure the garlic does not brown. Add the tomatoes after 5 minutes and turn up the heat to high. As soon as the tomatoes start to soften, add the cockles to the wok. Fry over a high heat and shake from time to time to make sure all the shells open. Add salt and pepper and basil leaves to taste.

Stewed venus clams

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, and the spring onion. Stir well and leave to soften over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add 250 millilitres of white wine and add the chicken stock. Add the venus clams. Bring to the boil and turn the heat down as soon as the shells start to open. Turn over from time to time. Add the cream and the lemon juice. Heat briefly and remove the pan from the heat. Garnish with flat-leaf parsley.

Serve with crusty bread and creamy butter.

Serves: 8