I could never pass up fresh-caught seafood, and there is nothing like wild-caught cockles on hot summer days…

Have you ever gone to the grocery store, thought you bought everything you needed, only to find out that when you got home and looked at that recipe, there’s that one (in my case, two) ingredient you don’t have?!  So this is when the art of substitution comes in handy, and for this recipe, that’s exactly what I did.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of cockles, cleaned and scraped off (as needed)
• 1 cup Château Haut-Bergeron (French Sweet Wine)
• 1 small red onion (or half of a large), chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, mashed
• a handful of flat parsley, chopped
• Olive oil (I use a local certified extra virgin olive oil, Shakespeare’s Acre from Winter Hill)

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat the olive oil, sauté garlic and red onions. Add the cockles and toss until a majority opens up. Shake the pot to be sure all the cockles are getting equal heat.
2. Add the Château Haut-Bergeron, cover for about 3 minutes to let the wine simmer.
3. With a slotted spoon remove the cockles and place it into a large serving bowl. Discard any unopened cockles.
4. Bring the liquid in the pot to a boil.  Add-in the chopped parsley.  Pour this sauce over the cockles and serve immediately.

Perfect with a warm rustic baguette…Bon Appétit!