Raw razor clams, white currants and fennel

Serves 4 as a starter

Florence Knight
Thursday 09 August 2012 16:07 EDT
Comments
Raw razor clams, white currants and fennel
Raw razor clams, white currants and fennel (Jason Lowe)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Florence: This dish reminds me of my first research trip to Venice. Russell took me to a restaurant called Alle Testiere, where we had the tiniest local razor clams simply prepared in olive oil, white wine and garlic.

I've always loved this neglected bi-valve; in this version, the accompaniment of fennel and mint gives this dish a delicate, feminine quality.

8 large razor clams, alive and cleaned
1 punnet of white currants
1 head of fennel
3 sprigs of mint
The juice of 1 lemon
A pinch of salt
1½tbsp olive oil
½ a red chilli, halved, seeded, roughly chopped

Run the clams under cold running water and gently prise the shells open with a butter knife to reveal the live clam. Remove and discard the gritty sinew at each end of the clam and the black sac in the middle. Rinse again under cold water and slice each clam at an angle.

Remove the outer layer and root of the fennel and thinly slice the bulb with a mandolin or knife. Tear the mint leaves and pick a few white currants off the stem.

Mix together the clam, fennel, chilli, mint and white currants and dress with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Be gentle so nothing gets crushed; scatter over your plates.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in