oysters, whelks, and

oysters, whelks, and finally the hard-won couteau, each course washed down with Muscadet from Yann’s cellar. Marie generously shared the recipes which she learned from her mother. As we enjoyed the fruits of our labour it reminded me that the best things in life really are free. Here are some of Marie’s recipes: Clams and cockles. Change seawater one hour after gathering. Cover with seaweed overnight. Repeat in morning at tide time. Ingredients: clams or cockles, white wine, garlic, butter, parsley. To cook: boil in large saucepan in broth of wine until shells open. Remove from pan, open shells and put small knob of butter, finely crushed garlic and chopped parsley into each shell. Bake in hot oven for a few minutes. Serve. Bigorneau. Ingredients: bigorneau, salt, butter. To cook; Place in large saucepan. Cover with water and boil. Add salt and knobs of butter, then cover pan and steam 10 minutes. Serve. This mimics the saltiness of the incoming tide, the head of the siphon appears above the sand exposing two or three inches…then GRAB and hang on for dear life! Grab too early and it’s gone. They can dig down up to a foot a minute. Naturally, Marie was the first to strike. Her hand whipped out like a cobra and she grasped, then pulled, and Hey Presto! The first couteau. Bracing ourselves to the task in hand (literally) we crouched, sprinkled, and pulled, until we had a decent haul and headed back to Marie’s to prepare for the evening’s fête de la mer. Ten of us sat down to the feast, starting with the bigorneau, ‘winkled’ out of their shells with a pin, followed by clams, Pan-fried clams. Ingredients: clams, breadcrumbs, garlic. Allow a dozen per person. To cook: Mix breadcrumbs and crushed garlic, roll the clams in the mixture and cook in a hot pan with melted butter. Serve. Razor clams. Ingredients: clams, garlic. Open the shells and remove the black digestive tract. Dry on kitchen roll. Fry for a few minutes in garlic and olive oil. Serve. Oysters. Open and serve with chopped shallots and lemon. For tidal information: maree.info or calendrier-maree.fr Further information: www.manger-la-mer. org/Peche-a-pied-conseils www.roscoff-tourisme.com