Steamed westhaven cockles with garlic, white wine and parsley butter
( SERVES 4 )

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Listener 7/1/2012

If the cockles are straight from the sea, place in a bucket of salt water for a few hours to purge them. Wash them well and place in a large pan with the wine, garlic(chopped and peeled) and celery leaves(chopped). Put over a high heat and let them steam open as the wine comes to the boil. As soon as all the cockles open, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Tip out most of the liquid, leaving about 4 tablespoons in the pan with the cockles.
Add the butter and parsley(finely chopped), then reheat the pan, shaking constantly. When hot, serve immediately, spooning the buttery juices over the cockles. Accompany with crusty sourdough bread.

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