Something Fishy with Simon Rhodes of the  Lobster Pot Fishmongers, Wood Street Food Hall, Swindon

A FEW months ago I talked about clams and gave a recipe for clam chowder.

This week I thought I’d talk about the versatility of clams and how they make a good alternative to mussels. Although a classic clam dish is spaghetti alla vongole, clams can be used in a variety of ways and can accompany the vast majority of fish.

Clams work exceedingly well with cider and along with a little tarragon, some sweated shallots, peas and crème fraiche can accompany a pan fried brill fillet. Remember to cook the clams first in a little cider until they open (similar to mussels) and remove from their shells and set aside, always keep the cooking juices as this is what gives the sauce flavour. Then, after the shallots have been sweated in another pan, add some peas then the juice and reduce down a little, add the clams, then some crème fraiche and a little chopped tarragon and serve with the pan fried brill fillet.

Simple razor clams with garlic butter and parsley. Razor clams are long and thin and are named because they look like the old fashioned cut throat razors. The meat inside is delicate and sweet and has a similar texture to scallops. Again these are steamed in either water or white wine until they open. Remove them from their shells and keep whole or slice. Melt some butter in a pan and sweat some chopped garlic (don’t burn the garlic) add the juices of the clams and plenty of chopped parsley and serve.

Another great recipe is ‘pan roasted monkfish with clam broth’.

First sprinkle the fillets with salt and a little curry powder and set aside for an hour so. Then put a couple of handfuls of clams in a pan, cover with a good splash of white wine and quickly bring to the boil. Shake the pan and When the clams are open remove from the heat and strain off the liquid into a container. Remove the clams from their shells and set aside.

Then heat a little vegetable oil in a pan and sweat some finely diced carrot, celery, onion, chorizo, fennel and a garlic clove. (careful not to colour). Add a few sprigs of thyme and some saffron then add the strained clam liquid and reduce slightly. While this is reducing, pan roast the monkfish fillets in another pan in a little oil for about 8-10 minutes and leave to rest for a couple of minutes in the pan. Add the clams to the broth and serve.

Slice the monkfish and place on top of the broth. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.I hope this has given you some inspiration for some clam recipes and remember we can always help with suggestions or recipe ideas in the shop.