Cockles with Green Sauce (gf)

One of my favourite recipes, these fresh, juicy cockles are just steamed open and topped with a fragrant herb sauce. Serve with lots of crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

GREEN SAUCE

½ packed cup each parsley leaves and mint leaves

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

⅓ cup olive oil

COCKLES

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 kilograms cockles, cleaned (see Cook’s note)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

TO SERVE

2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

lemon wedges

GREEN SAUCE: Place all the ingredients in a small food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

COCKLES: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat. Add the cockles, garlic and chilli then cover and steam until the cockles have opened. Discard any that remain closed.

TO SERVE: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cockles to a serving dish. Put ½ cup of the cooking liquid into a bowl and stir in the green sauce.

Spoon this over the cockles, scatter over the parsley and serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing. SERVES 6

Cook’s note: To clean the cockles, place in a large bowl of cold water with 2 teaspoons of salt. Leave for 15 minutes for them to purge any sand, then drain well.