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	New Zealand Littleneck Clams

New Zealand Littleneck Clams

First things first! Is it a cockle or a clam?

I asked Roger Belton of Dunedin based Southern Rainbow, and his reply was that Captain Cook was to blame for the misunderstanding. He goes onto explain that when Cook arrived in New Zealand and saw our littleneck clams, they reminded him of the cockles back home in England. He named them so and the nickname stuck. REALLY stuck! Even today in fish shops around New Zealand you can find Littleneck Clams by looking for the label of cockles.

These clams however have much more meat on them than cockles and are considered as a very similar species to the littleneck clam of Chesapeake Bay in the United States. That is good news for New Zealand clam exporting that ship hundreds of tonnes of clams to the States each year. While clams are washed, graded and exported within 24-48 hours of harvesting, they have an incredibly long life of 10 days making them by far the most hardiest of our shellfish.

Blueskin Bay

	Dunedin

Clams are raked from the seabed by wetsuit clad men who drag a metal cage with a serrated blade through the sand. Undersized clams fall through the bars ensuring rejuvenation of the species and larger clams collect before being bagged, placed on a barge and sent to the processing factory. The work is incredibly physical and some harvesters can pull up to a ton of clams in a day.

The clams are harvested in Blue Skin Bay, a short drive from Dunedin.

Very little cooking is required to open the shell of a clam, around 1 minute, one third the amount of time it takes to steam open a mussel. The liquor they release is very salty so don’t add salt to season the finished sauce or stock. They can also be shucked and eaten raw, in which case, choose the smaller sweeter clams. Here is a dish I created for Televisions Ones Good Morning that uses the sweet tasting cooking liquor of the clams and wasabi for a fresh flavoured and very tasty sauce.

	Littleneck Clams in Wasabi Butter

Littleneck Clams and Cucumber in Wasabi Butter

• 1/2 a telegraph cucumber
• 1 cup white wine
• 20 live clams in their shells
• 1 tablespoon wasabi paste
• 1 tablespoon butter

Cut the cucumber in half through its length then scoop out the seeds. Finely slice the cucumber as thinly as you can then set aside.

Place wine and clams in a large wok or pot then set onto a high heat. Toss the clams occasionally as they steam open. Discard any that haven’t opened. Remove cooked clams into 2 serving bowls.

Whisk in the wasabi paste then add the butter and let the liquid simmer until the butter is incorporated. This should only take around 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cucumber then spoon evenly between 2 bowls.
Serve immediately.
Serves 2

For more information on Southern Clams and availability, please visit Southern Rainbow.

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Food photos and article © Genevieve McGough 2007