It has been a gorgeous week in Cornwall, it truly felt like summer especially if you were on the beach and found some shelter from the breeze. As the sun was shining, the sky’s were blue and all the beaches around us were looking lush I decided to go cook on the beach. As I’m always up for a challenge, I also thought I would give my first Video Blog ago or Vlog for those in the know.
I was fortunate enough to source some amazing Cornish Clams and veg from the Cornish Food Box after work on Friday and then went to the beach. This recipe is very simple and uses the combination of natural flavours of great produce that really complement one another. Instead of using wine as you would with muscles and seafood, I used a good quality medium dry cider that adds a lovely sweetness and acidity to the dish. When combined with, veg, fresh clams and a good knob of butter the results were bliss. Please take a look at my Vlog below and let us know if you have any feedback..enjoy.
| Prep Time | 10 |
| Cook Time | 20 |
| Servings |
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- 1 bag Clams Cleaned and scrubbed
- 1 Leek Finely sliced
- 1 Carrot Grated
- 1 bunch Spring Onion Finely Sliced
- Cornish Butter
- 1 Bottle Cornish Cider
- Foraged Herbs Chickweed, primrose,chives,lemon thyme,Sorrel,
- leaves, stems wild garlic Roughly Chopped
- 6 rashers bacon Cut in to lardons
Ingredients
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- Heat the oil in the pan. Add the bacon and cook. Once it is 3/4 cooked add the spring onion, carrot, wild garlic and leek mixture. There is no need to add salt as the clams and the bacon is salty but you can adjust to taste at the end. Once the vegetables have begun to break down and the mix is hot and just beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan, pour in the bottle of cider. Put the lid on the pan on wait for the cider to start bubbling. Add the clams and close the lid. Wait for 4- 5 minutes or when the clam shells start to open. Remove the lid and add a good dollop of butter. Stir in to the clams along with the chopped fresh herbs. Spoon out into a bowl and add serve with fresh bread.
Plating Up and Eating
We foraged fresh herbs for this recipe which was a mixture of sorrel, chickweed , four cornered leek and wild garlic. The herbs make an amazing rustic garnish and add great individual flavours to the dish. There will be plenty of juice in this dish, so we took a loaf of sourdough from the Cornish Food Box to the beach and mopped up the juices at the end. It was so nice to cook clams as you don't see them very often at the fishmongers. They are the perfect beach food because you don't need a knife or fork, you just use the shells to scoop up all of the goodies. The cider really goes well this dish and adds a great sweetness to the salty stock, however I would only use a good quality cider and not one that is too sweet. It really doesn't get much better, locally sourced , good fresh food eaten with friends in the sun at your local beach.
Well I hope you enjoyed the post and vlog, let me know if you need any tips or have any questions.
Whealfood x
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