October 25, 2013 New Zealand Cockles with pasta

October 25, 2013 New Zealand Cockles with pasta

This morning a made a simple and delicious breakfast.  I heated a scoop of PPI Moussaka made at the Bistro and added two egg whites to it for lovely scrambled eggs.
 

Later I stopped at Costco and bought a five pound bag of live New Zealand cockles ($3.49/lb.). When I arrived home, I put them into a large bowl with ice and water.

When Suzette came home she did not wish to cook, so I said I would.  I wanted to try a little different recipe, so I chopped a carrot, about 1/3 cup of onion and a couple of stalks of celery and the celery tops and sautéed that in a large enameled casserole with 8 oz.  of butter to make a mirepoix.  Then I added about 1 ½ cup of PPI chardonnay and a couple of sprigs of marjoram and thyme from the garden and brought the stock to a boil. When the stock was boiling I added a layer of clams so they were covered by the boiling broth and allowed a little extra room so they could pop open.  It took about five rounds of clams to finish all of them opening.  While this process was proceeding I brought a pot of water to a boil and then we added a lb. of spaghetti to the pot and let if come to a boil and boil until soft.  We chucked the cockles and held the clam meats in a separate bowl until all the clam had opened.  Then when the pasta was ready, Suzette jumped in and returned the clams to the broth pot and added about 2 cups of pasta to it toss with the clams.  Then we filled bowls with the clam and pasta and broth mixture, garnished the bowls with slices of Pecorino Roman cheese and served it with pieces of toasted baguette and glasses of a new 2011 Portico Da Ria Albarino I bought at Trader Joe’s on close out for $5.99/bottle.

 

 

Actually the 2011 Portico Da Ria Albarino is the least interesting Albarino I have ever tasted.  It is sweet and lacks any tartness, crispness or character.  So I will return the five other bottles I bought.

Also the cockles have a slightly muddy flavor.  I realize that mollusks are best in the “R” months because that is the fall in the Northern Temperate Zone.  But it is Springtime in New Zealand, a good time for lamb but not a good time for mollusks.

Bon Appétit