Beer-Braised Cockles with Tomato and Basil

Cockles in a bowl with buttered bread on the side.

5 from 1 vote

Beer-Braised Cockles with Tomato and Basil

One of my favourite ways to enjoy cockles is braised in beer, tomato, butter and garnished with fresh basil. Enjoy these as a side dish or as a main course with lots of buttered bread.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Purging Time 1

Total Time 1 18

Calories 448kcal

Cost $20/14€

Equipment

Large pot with a lid

Ingredients

1 kg cockles alive
½ bottle light beer
280 g tomato diced (2-3 regular tomatoes)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced finely
½ bunch fresh basil
20 g butter (1-2 tbsp)
9 g olive oil (1 tbsp)

Instructions

Purge the cockles in cold salted water (use sea salt, not table salt) for at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
After soaking, lift the cockles out of the cold water to a clean bowl and keep in the fridge until ready to cook.
Have all of the ingredients ready to go before you start because they'll cook pretty quickly.
In a large pot with a lid, gently cook the sliced garlic in the olive oil until fragrant but not browned (about 1 minute).
Immediately deglaze the pan with the beer. Add the tomato and half the basil. Increase the heat to high and close the lid. Shake the pan with the lid closed to cook them more evenly.
Once the clams start to open, don't shake them anymore to prevent them from falling out of their shells.
Once most of the clams are opened turn off the heat. Add the rest of the basil, the butter and close the lid. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Check before serving for any cockles that didn't open and discard them.
Serve as a side dish or with lots of buttered bread. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don't have sea salt, you can use plain water to soak the cockles.

Nutrition

Liked this recipe?Follow @Bdeglazed!