Shellfish and Watercress

Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Sugar-free | Easy Recipe

Serves 1

Why it's delicious:

What more is there to say? It is delicious because it is light and tender with the subtle flavour of the ocean. I made this dish as an alternative when I didn’t have any fish on hand, and I'm so glad I did! Amazing flavour, fun to eat and quick to cook. 

Helpful hints + tips:

Shellfish: I used New Zealand little neck clams or cockles as they are called, but you can also use pips or vongole. The best way to measure how many clams you will need to reach your portion size, weigh one flesh only and then give an accurate estimate of how many you will need to make up 100 grams (6 oz) of meat. I calculated 4-5 grams per clam, so I used 20 clams. 

Watercress: Buy yourself a big bunch of watercress that is bright green and vibrant in colour. If you can't find watercress, you can use baby spinach or baby bok choy instead. 

Ingredients

• 170 g ( 6 oz) watercress, large stalks removed ( weigh after removing stalks)
• 100 g (3.5 oz) cockle/clam/pipi meat ( approx 20 cockles) 
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
• Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks
• Small handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped

Method

1. Wash the watercress well by rubbing the leaves together and breaking up the sprigs so they are easier to eat. Rinse in plenty of cold running water, discarding any brown or aged leaves. 
2. Heat a large frying pan or wok on medium to high temperature and add the cockles. Place a lid over the cockles and allow them to start to steam themselves open. Turn the heat down to medium and allow the cockles to continue to steam open, removing each cockle as soon as the shell springs open and set the cockle aside in a bowl. 
3. There should be about ½ cup of natural liquid in the base of the pan. If not, add enough water so it comes up to about ½ cup. Add the garlic and watercress to the liquid and cook for around 2 minutes or until the watercress is still vibrant green but tender to the bite. Season the watercress with salt and pepper and sprinkle in the chopped coriander stalks.
4. Place the watercress at the bottom of a deep bowl, add the cockles on top of the watercress and then pour the liquid from the pan over the top of the cockles until it creates a little pool of liquid in the plate. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves and season with a little salt and pepper before serving.