Day 37: shellfish saturdays

If you’ve been following this cookalong you will know of my fondness for shellfish, and you may well have noticed that most (if not all) of my shellfish picks have been cooked on a Saturday. The reason for this is because I choose to support our local fishmonger and the only day I can get there is on a Saturday morning when I do the rest of my essential shopping. It was this Saturday that I actually realised it was becoming a bit of a tradition.

So, in light of this realisation, I have decided from this day forth we will embrace this new tradition, and I gladly give you - Shellfish Saturdays. I do not know if this is an international thing or a trending hashtag, but it is very much a tradition that I would like to bring into our home. I am also a sucker for new traditions, and the weekly anticipation of a trip to the fishmongers every Saturday morning - to see what shelly delights are on offer - is a thought that pleases me greatly. I hate wishing time away, but I cannot deny the fact that as soon as I get up on a Monday morning, I already start thinking about Friday afternoons and their obligatory Bloody Mary’s, so the addition of a new (perhaps less alcohol-related) tradition is even more incentive to power positively through the week. By the way, I don’t tend to think of alcohol (specifically) first thing in the morning, it’s more the association between that end-of-the-week feeling and vodka-spiked, spiced tomato juice.

Anyway, on this Shellfish Saturday, I was lucky enough to get a net of clams, so we embraced it with Nigella’s Clams with Chorizo.

Nigella’s Clams with Chorizo

Now, unfortunately, I royally messed this one up. I used a very strong chorizo: it was salty, spicy and quite smoky. Despite all of the alarm bells that were sounding in my head, I ignored my instincts and pursued. The intense salinity from the chorizo permeated its way into everything, including the clams, and - even though I love salty foods - it made the liquor almost inedible. That being said, while we might not have been able to indulge in spoonfuls of the (salty) fragrantly spiced juices, the opportunity to dunk in a few slices of warm crusty bread was certainly seized and enjoyed.

I never pass up the opportunity for a glass or three of nice dry fino sherry - in fact, I insist upon it during times of intense (but pleasurable) cooking prep, such as around Easter and Christmas - but I have never had Amontillado. The woody, barrel-like fragrance, which reminds me of marsala, still came through strong in the clam liquor so I was glad to be able to experience and enjoy that. Actually, I loved this flavour, and I know for a fact that this would have been incredible if only I’d followed my instinct, or perhaps used the right chorizo.

However, all was not lost, and nothing was wasted: the clams and chorizo were eaten and enjoyed, and I reserved the liquor to use another time; I knew this saline broth was perfectly fine, it just needed counteracting with a lot of something that was a lot less salty. I was planning on freezing this, but the following day I thickened it very slightly with a little roux, added finely chopped spring onion (just the green bit), chilli flakes, double cream and some lemon zest, and then tossed it through spaghetti with flakes of hot smoked salmon and a generous handful of chopped fresh parsley. This is another prime example of feeding two birds with one scone: making sure nothing is wasted, even if you may well think it's ruined. 

Flavour musings

Today’s musings should perhaps focus less on flavour and more on behaviour, as I do tend to throw my toys out of the pram when things don’t go quite according to plan, and then I end up not enjoying the experience as much as I really should. Is it because things didn’t go my way? Is it because I think I’ve wasted food? Or, is it because I feel I’ve let someone down? Yes, I hate wasting food and yes, I hate letting people down, but there is no need for any complex or meaningful psychoanalysing here. Sometimes, I am just a spoilt little whippersnapper that hates it when things don’t go his way. We’ve all been there though, right?

In case there’s any doubt, I’m very much the one who messed up here and next time I will get it right. But, on this occasion, and as my family say, you can’t win ‘em all!