Cockles

This picture was taken on a day which my fishmonger surprised me with a few KG of fresh cockles
Cockles
By Michael O’Meara

Oscars Bistro Galway city
As a young lad in the 70’s, my family and I would often holiday on the coast of Sligo. If you know Sligo at all you will know that some of the best and most spectacular beaches and coastlines in the Country can be found in this county and they are well worth seeking out and exploring. On a little strand called Culleenamore I would spend hours gathering a small and rather delicious shellfish which was abundant in the sands of this back strand, this little piece of heaven is better known as the cockle.

Cockles for me are an incredibly nostalgic wild food which is easy to collect when you’re in the right place and as sweet and delicious as any seafood you will find. The cockle is a bivalve shellfish of which there are a number of species although a number of similar shellfish are called cockles, although they are not true members of the Cardiidae family. The common or edible cockle is properly named Cerastoderma edule. This is a tasty treat both cooked and raw and is a very popular shellfish at Oscars, but one good tip is to allow the cockle to store in clean fresh seawater for around 24 hours in order to purge excess sand from the shellfish. The name cockle itself is derived from the Greek word meaning shell, not that Molly Malone was likely to care for the classical naming of her cockles “as she cried Cockles and mussels Alive Alive, oh”’

Despite us Irish having the most famous cockle seller among us, the Irish never really embraced the cockle as the English have, which is a real pity because the cockle is not only great on its own but also makes a great addition to almost any seafood stew, chowder or other combination dish.
To cook cockles
1 kg fresh cockles all of which have been purged in fresh sea water and well cleaned

1 glass of white wine

2 large shallots chopped fine

100 ml fresh cream

1 table spoon finely chopped parsley

Place the cockles into a large pot with a tight fitting lid, add the wine and shallots then close the lid and place pot onto a high heat. Cook until all the cockles are open then add the cream and chopped parsley. Bring to boil and serve straight away with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the tasty broth.