Is there anything better than a plateful of fresh shellfish simply cooked? Maybe some quality rare sirloin comes close, and a good piece of lamb or mutton is hard to beat, but I think shellfish packs the biggest punch in terms of maximum flavour for minimum effort.

Tonight’s indulgent second evening meal (hey, it’s a holiday today, even if I did work most of the day) was very easy to make but pretty impressive to serve, at least in my opinion

To make it, get hold of some live clams and mussels - or cockles, or anything else you fancy and can source - and clean them in the usual way.

Cook some large prawns (raw, shell on) in salted water until pink and set aside.

Chop a clove or two of garlic and gently fry with some dried chilli to taste in a fair bit of good olive oil. Just as the garlic starts to turn golden, throw in the clams and mussels, followed by a good glug of white or rose wine. Put the lid on the pan, and turn up the heat a little. Shake the pan from time to time.

After two or three minutes, the shellfish will have opened. If not, just give it a bit longer

Once the clams and mussels have opened, add a good handful of chopped parsley and toss to coat. Serve with the cooked prawns, and plenty of crusty bread.

Now, if I could just persuade my fishmonger to stock live clams more often!

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