Berberechos al ajillo | Cockles with garlic and parsley
We love cockles in Spain, we eat them as a tapa and many times directly from the tin. To us is a real delicatessen. The beauty of cockles apart from their fantastic flavour is that they cook in 3 minutes and it takes you way longer to enjoy them, just the type of recipe I like the most. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
500g fresh cockles
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
A generous drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to season
Rinse the cockles in water to remove as much of the outer sand as possible. Then place them in a bowl with cold water for 30 minutes in the fridge. Rinse them again and now fill the bowl with cold water and season it with about 1 tbsp if salt and place them in the fridge back again for a further 30 minutes. This will make them open up and start filtering the water and expel the sand. Rinse them under cold water and pat dry them.
Place a large frying pan or pot over high heat. Pour the olive oil and add the garlic and let it start frying for about 1 minute before adding the cockles, salt, pepper and the parsley. Sauté a couple of times and cover with a lid for 2 minutes or until they open.
Serve with plenty of bread to mop up the oils and enjoy!
