The Great Syp Clam Scam

How lucky am I? You know how it is when you buy a load of clams that around 10% of them aren't going to open when you throw them in boiling liquid? The little molluscs' lack of reaction to extremes of temperature (ie they don't try to jump out) generally means that they were dead before they hit the stock.

I bought a couple of €'s worth from Syp yesterday to go in a nice fish stew and around 80% of them remained tightly closed - clammed up, in fact. Like the fish we had with them, I was gutted. I love clams, especially when part of Spaghetti Vongole, or Asturian style, with beans.

So, I did a kind of before and after with the meal last night, which in honour of its grandeur, we ate at the table.

Here's the raw ingredients.....

Just add water, and Hey Presto