An impressive one-pan dish to enjoy outdoors in the sunshine, this is a twist on the classic ‘moules mariniere’. Perfect for seafood lovers, it’s full of fresh flavour with extra crisp and salty hints from the samphire. Pair with a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the buttery sauce – not forgetting a cold glass of your favourite dry white wine.
Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1kg fresh mussels
- 500g-1kg fresh clams
- 12 large raw tiger prawns, in shells
- 50g butter
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 150ml white wine
- 150g fresh samphire, rinsed
Method
- Wash the mussels and clams under cold running water and scrub using a small, stiff brush. Pull off the ‘beards’ from the mussels. Discard any shellfish that are open and do not close when tapped.
- Heat the butter in a large pan. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for about 5 minutes until softened but not brown.
- Add the wine and turn up the heat until bubbling then add the mussels and clams. Turn up the heat and cook with the lid on for about 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then until the shellfish have opened.
- Using a slotted spoon, lift out the shellfish to a large bowl. Discard any unopened shells.
- Add the prawns and samphire to the cooking liquor and cook for 3 minutes until the prawns have changed colour from grey to pink.
- Return the clams and mussels to the pan and mix carefully with a large spoon. Heat through and serve with plenty of crusty bread.
Tips:
- Reducing the stock intensifies the flavour.
- Don’t add salt until the end of cooking. The long and slow simmering intensifies flavours.
- Use a mixture of prawn, crab and lobster shells.
- If you have some shellfish shells after a meal but don’t have time to make a stock immediately, freeze the shells until you have time.
- Cooking the shells in oil helps to release their natural flavours.
