Cockles A La Marinera

It’s common to find cockles or coquinas on the menus of many of the restaurants in Andalusia, especially those on the coast around the area of Cadiz and Huelva. The best ones are those that you’ll find served up in the Chiringuitos – the Spanish term for the beachside bars and restaurants.

Cockles live buried in the sand, always near the shore, where they acquire all the rich flavour of the sea. Their juicy meat has a very fresh and distinctive taste and they can be enjoyed either by themselves or as an ingredient in another dish – maybe a paella. In our opinion though, the best way to enjoy coquinas is as simply as possible with only a few added ingredients that enhance and don’t mask their natural flavour and taste. Keep in mind that coquinas are very moorish! So once you serve up and start tucking in, it’s very hard to stop eating them, so be sure to cater adequately.

Cockles a la Marinera

• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Cuisine: Fish

Ingredients

• 1 kg cockles
• 6 – 8 cloves of garlic finelly chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• parsley, handful
• 150ml white wine
• lemon to garnish

Instructions

1. Put your cockles in a bowl and then cover with water, adding about 1 tbsp of salt. If you can get seawater then even better. Leave them covered like this for about 40 min. This helps to clean them and remove any sand they may have inside.
2. Drain the water from the bowl and then add your olive oil to a large frying pan and set on a high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cockles and cook until they start to open.
3. Add the chopped garlic and stir.
4. After about 1 minute add the white wine.
5. When you see that the cockles are starting to loose some liquid and that the alcohol has evaporated (which you will smell) add the handfull of parsley. Stir for a few seconds and then serve.
6. Garnish with half a lemon – and leave it to you guests to choose whether to add lemon or not!