Cockle linguine

SERVES 4 AS A MAIN

This is a super simple dish and it is also delicious — the hardest part is to make sure your pasta is cooked at the same time that your cockles are cooked. You don’t want your pasta to be cooked first and waiting for the cockles to be done as it will dry out and stick together.

If you can’t get cockles you can use clams, pipis, razor clams or even mussels.

400 g (14 oz) linguine

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons chopped garlic chives

1 red bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) cockles (see note)

125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) good-quality dry white wine

3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf(Italian) parsley

Bring some well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for the recommended time until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan that has a lid and gently sauté the garlic until softened, then add the garlic chives and chilli and cook for a few minutes more. Turn up the heat and add the cockles and white wine. Put a lid on the pan and cook for a few minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Once all the cockles are opened, sprinkle with parsley and keep warm. Discard any cockles that remain tightly closed. Drain the pasta, add to the pan with the cockles and mix well.

Serve the linguine on a large platter with crusty bread and a glass of white wine.

There is nothing more satisfying than going down to the beach with a bucket and digging up a feed of fresh cockles. If you do this, they will need to be purged of sand by soaking them in salted cold water (sea water) for about an hour.