There may just be time to get some cockles before the seasons ends on 30th April but, if you are unlucky, try when the next season begins in January 2024 as this recipe uses only a few ingredients and is easy to prepare, and the result is delicious. If you want to make the meal extra special, serve it with some sourdough crumbs scattered over the top and a spoonful of garlic mayonnaise; otherwise, a sprinkling of olive oil and some good crusty bread and butter will be just fine too.
Enough for 4
Fresh Cockles – a few handfuls for each person
8 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
A small bunch of parsley washed and chopped finely – remove any large stalks
2 x 400g cans of white beans – Hodmedods do canned fava beans, or you could use other ****canned white beans such as cannellini
Accompaniments as suggested above if you like
You will also need a large sturdy pan, big enough to hold all the cockles and beans, with a well-fitting lid.
Wash the cockles in plenty of cold water and scrub them with a brush. Discard any that have broken shells or those which feel heavy (they are probably full of sand). If any shells are open, tap them sharply on the work surface and, if they don’t close, discard them. Leave them to soak in a bowl of fresh cold water for 10 minutes, then rinse again until the water runs clear and then drain them.
Put the cockles in the pan over medium heat and cover the pan with the lid. They will cook in the delicious “stock” produced. You will need to have an occasional peep at them and, when the shells start to open, probably after about 5 minutes or so, stir in the crushed garlic, half the chopped parsley and the beans including any liquid in the cans. Replace the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes or so until the mixture is piping hot. Stir in the remaining chopped parsley and serve in warm bowls with the accompaniments suggested above if you like.
Sherbhert champions delicious, healthy and sustainable food where its production minimises environmental damage, exploitation, animal suffering and subsequent processing. Sherbhert’s recipes are simple and use mainly UK seasonal produce sourced as locally as possible.
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