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Warming the cockles - Beachcomber's Broth

Posted Wednesday, 15 February 2012 / Written by Patrick

Cockle picking during February is an excellent seasonal activity with great rewards - we're right in the middle of the cockle season but there are fewer beachcombers out harvesting the fruits of the sea. It can be, however, a very cold activity as I found out on a recent trip to Studland beach in Dorset. Given this, it is very important to ensure that the cockles are as tasty as they can be and not full of grit as can so often be the case. Whilst down in Dorset last weekend, the people we were staying with suggested a technique for purging cockles that I can confirm worked a treat:

1. Put the cockles in cold or sea water
2. Add a sprinkling of porridge oats
3. Change the water after 4 or 5 hours
4. Add some more oats
5. Repeat the process for as long as you can until the time for eating

The idea is that the cockles feed on the oats and as they feed, they discharge the grit which may be caught up in their shells. We changed the water for tap water about 3 times over a 24 hour period and this resulted in a complete purging of the cockles with no grit tasted.

Our recipe for cooking the cockles was not dissimilar to a classic moule marinières:

- About 3 dozen cockles
- One onion finely chopped
- Two cloves of garlic
- 2-3 glasses of white wine
- half pint of vegetable or chicken stock
- Parsley
- Dollop of creme fraiche

Fry the onions and the garlic until they are soft. Add the purged cockles and white wine until the alcohol has been burnt off. Add the stock and cook the cockles until they open. Add the parsley, creme fraiche and season. Serve with warm crusty bread and a spoon. We actually had a few clams (smooth rather than ridged shell) in the pot as well. They take a fraction longer to open (and therefore indicate that they are cooked), but otherwise are a welcome addition to a February beachcomber's broth!

Cockles from Studland

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