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.