Warty venus clam

Praire

What it is

Verrucosa means warty: the concentric ribs break up into blunt tubercles towards the edge of the shell, and nothing else on a plateau de fruits de mer has that texture under the thumb. It takes four to five years to reach the size the dredges may legally keep, which is most of the reason it costs what it does beside a palourde raised in two.

In the kitchen

Open it raw with a short blade at the hinge and eat it as it is; the meat is dense enough that a minute of heat turns it to eraser. If you want it hot, stuff it and give it ninety seconds under a fierce grill only — the base of the shell should still be cool.

Goes with

Lemon Garlic Parsley Butter Shallot Espelette pepper Olive oil White wine vinegar

In season alongside

Abalone Japanese abalone Clam Common prawn Gurnard Haddock

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