Whilst cooking with shellfish can be a daunting prospect, it’s really quite simple. The only trick for this dish is to by the cockles on the day you’re planning to cook them as they can make the fridge smell. To keep the cockles fresh, place them in a bowl and cover with damp newspaper until you’re ready to cook. This dish will take a bit of time to prepare, but its fun to cook and tastes fantastic.
Ingredients (serves 4):
1Kg Live cockles
200ml Cider
30g Butter
1 Onion, peeled and finely chopped
6 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
25g Plain flour
1 Litre fish stock
Finely chopped parsley
3-4 Tablespoons of double cream
1. Run water of the cockles for 20 minutes, agitate them and drain
2. Put the cleaned cockles into a large saucepan with the cider and cook over a high heat for 2-3 minutes
3. Drain the cockles in a colander over a bowl and keep the cooking liquor
4. Melt the butter in clean saucepan, gently cooking the garlic and onions for 3-4 minutes without browning. Add the flour, stir over a low heat for 30 seconds, then gradually whisk in the cooking liquor and fish stock
5. Simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the soup by one-third, add the chopped parsley, cream and season to taste
6. In the meantime, remove two-thirds of the cockles from their shells and add the soup
7. To serve, pour the soup into bowls, add the shelled/unshelled cockles and lightly sprinkle some chopped parsley
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