Cockles

Most of the cockles we see in the United States are from New Zealand and have a little bit of green shading near the hinge. There isn’t a whole lot of meat in a cockle, but the juices that cockles release when they are steamed or poached are perhaps the tastiest of all seafood juices and can be used as the base for sauces. To make a sensational seafood sauce, steam open a few handfuls of cockles in a little wine, use the liquid to cook a fish fillet, and then finish the liquid with some chopped herbs, a little butter, or a little cream, or all three. (For more about seafood sauces.) Serve the cockles around and over the fish. You can also include cockles in seafood “stews”.

Put the cockles in a pan with white wine to come about one-fourth up the sides of the shellfish.

Bring to a boil and boil until they open, about 5 minutes.