Spaghetti cockles

This recipe is very loosely based on the classic ‘spaghetti alla vongole’ but I emphasise with all the force at my command that this is not intended to be an equivalent of the first thing I ever ate in Italy. I am with Elizabeth David on this. And Nigel Slater. I have no difficulty with the idea of creating new recipes, standing on the shoulder of giants, but to pretend that a flan filled with oozing cheese and onion is a quiche Lorraine is simply a perversion of the truth. But I digress. The cockle dish below does not contain any flavourings other than the shellfish, the meat, the vegetables and the oil in which it is cooked.

INGREDIENTS

Spaghetti
Cockles
Lardons
Celery
Shallots
Garlic
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh chilli
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

METHOD

Finely chop the shallots, celery, tomatoes and chilli finely.
Cook the spaghetti.
While the spaghetti is cooking, cook the other ingredients in a large frying pan or wok in roughly this order: olive oil, garlic, shallots, lardons, celery, fresh chilli, cherry tomatoes, cockles. Allow this to cook in its own juices, stirring to avoid sticking. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it, but don’t worry if there is a little water left behind; stir it into the frying pan, add a little more olive oil and salt and pepper. Stir it all in, serve and eat.

Salt Duck

This was a recipe that my mother discovered late in my childhood, possibly even early adulthood. Salt duck. Perhaps the name had intrigued her. I recall her setting my brother, William, and my great aunt, Aunt C, who was staying with us in Beckenham, to work on it, probably while she was at work. I was not involved in the preparation, only the eating. And I do not recall precisely how it was made. Only that she served it as one might serve Parma ham, with cubes of melon. Delicious. Salt duck. It entered the lexicon of family cookery but I do not recall it ever having been made again.

Here is part of a recipe by Jeremy Lee which I think comes closest to recreating what I ate about thirty years ago.

INGREDIENTS

1 mallard

1 tsp sea salt

1 sprig of thyme

black pepper

METHOD

The day before serving, prepare the mallard for salting. Cut away the backbone and wishbone from the mallard. Place a gentle pressure on the bird to flatten it slightly, then place in a medium dish.

Sprinkle over the salt, ensuring an even spread across the bird, along with six turns of the pepper mill. Add the thyme and bay leaf to the dish, cover well and transfer to the fridge to marinate for 24 hours.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Once the mallard has finished marinating, carefully lift it from the dish and place it into the water. Allow the liquid to return to the boil and simmer the bird for 2 minutes.

Once cooked, use tongs to carefully remove the mallard from the pan and place on a baking tray or dish. Set aside and leave to cool.

Slice thinly and serve with melon. Eat.