The shellfish that I got Saturday morning when I went to the market in Saint-Aignan turned out to be cockles. We've cooked them several times over the past couple of years, and we enjoy them. At 12 euros per kilo, they are much less expensive than clams (praires 24€/kg, palourdes 20€/kg).
I've done posts over the years about making spaghetti or linguine with what is called "white clam sauce" — here, for example. It's called "white" because it's not made with tomato sauce, but with olive oil, white wine, and garlic or onions (or both).
Cockles are reputedly full of sand, so letting them disgorge in salted water for at least an hour, if not two or three, is important, as I described a couple of days ago. You need to put in 35 grams of salt for each liter of water to mimic seawater.
Meanwhile, yesterday for lunch I made a Moroccan tajine of lamb and pumpkin, using the rest of the lamb I roasted for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and about a quarter of an orange pumpkin from our 2016 vegetable garden. It was a success and would be good made with chicken or turkey too. More later...
Cockles are what are called pipis in Australia I believe.
ReplyDeleteIs that pronounced pippies, peepees, or peyepeyes? Or some other way?
DeleteAll your meals look so delish...and cooked with flare.
ReplyDeleteTo Susan above...I thought pipis was a Maori word (what we call one of our shellfish in nz)...slightly different from cockles. More oval and whiter
I read on Wikipedia that Aussie pipis and NZ pipis are not the same bivalve.
DeleteThanks, I didn't realise they used the same name in Australia..and for another type
DeleteOkay-- making my menu for the next week. Keep going! I always feel inspired by you.
ReplyDeleteFresh, tasty, great photos!
ReplyDeleteJohn, you will soon be getting calls from famous chefs, asking you if you would like to work with them. Or at least asking if they can come to dinner .
ReplyDelete