Cockles

January 2010 – Although there are few wild mushrooms available in the depths of winter, you can keep your hand in by gathering cockles on the shore

CocklesOur Neanderthal ancestors must have struggled to find food in the depths of winter, but the coast is always rich in calories. Cockles were particularly valued and remained staples for the urban poor during the Industrial Revolution. Well after the Second World War they were sold in huge numbers in London’s East End, Liverpool and the cities of the North East, but recently they have fallen out of favour in Britain (although they are still highly-rated in much of Europe).

This is a pity because they are both delicious and plentiful. They live beneath the sand around the low water mark and although generally invisible, their presence is often marked by the broken shells left by oystercatchers or by thin films of green plankton on muddy sections of beach. 

Although anyone can collect cockles for personal use in the inter-tidal zone, it is a good idea to ask locals for advice. This not only saves time, but reduces the risk of upsetting sensitivities and can reveal tips about tides and sewage outfalls. Gathering them can also be potentially dangerous because they favour flat sandy beaches where the sea can move in rapidly – as a group of 21 Chinese cocklers found to their cost in Morecambe Bay in 2004.

imageArmed with a little local advice, harvest them with a blunt-tipped rake, but only take the bigger specimens. Keep the haul in a bucket of seawater for a few hours to allow them to disgorge any sand and before cooking, check each is tightly closed. Then plunge in boiling water for four minutes. Eat immediately or serve in cream on pasta or on toast mixed with crisp lardons of smoky bacon.

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Mushroom Newsletter (10 May 2010)
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Mushroom Newsletter (4 June 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (8 November)
Mushroom Newsletter (9 December 2009)
Mushroom Newsletter (Chanterelles - July 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter 3 June
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Wild Food

Our ancestors relied on wild food from the fields and woods, great great grandfathers were transported for helping themselves, while Mabey, Mears and Fearnley-Whittingstall have introduced a new generation to its charms. So what free delicacies are available now?

Alexanders
Birch Sap Wine
Chanterelles
Chestnut
Cockles
Elderberries
Hairy Bittercress
Hogweed
Hops (March 2010)
Morel
Pennywort
Ramsoms (May 2010)
Red-legged partridge
Silver Birch
Sloe
St Georges (April 2010)
Stinging Nettles
Wild strawberries

Wildlife Profile

Britain is blessed with a rich and varied fauna - what seasonal highlights are visible now?

Badger
Barn Owl
Bats
Brown Hare
Butterflies
Fieldfares
Frog
Garden Warbler
Great spotted woodpecker
Hedgehogs
Jay
Kingfisher
Mistle Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Moths (July 2010)
Nightjar
Nuthatch (June 2010)
Partridge
Redstart
Roe Deer
Spiders
Tawny Owl

Recipes

Just as we Britons have lost any mushroom lore we might once have possessed, so most of us are at a loss when we finally venture into the kitchen with our haul. In reality, however, mushrooms are one of the easiest things to work with. They have such fantastic flavours, the general rule is to not to mask these with complicated recipes. Most should be cooked, particularly the first time, because they can be indigestible, but otherwise, simple is usually best . . .

Baked eggs and rocket with chilli and yoghurt (June 2010)
Chanterelle and Feta Quiche
Chanterelles a la forestiere
Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Chicken-of-the-Woods Satay
Elderflower Cordial
Grilled Cepes
Jew's Ear on Pasta
Morel Fondue
Morel Stroganoff (March 2010)
Parasol Tempura
Pearl Barley and Wild Mushroom Risotto
Shaggy Ink Cap Soup
St Georges Vol-au-Vents
Venison and Blewit Casserole
Wild Mushroom and Nut Pate
Wild mushroom soup