Ingredients

• 150g/5oz butter
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves
• 2 leeks
• finely chopped
• trimmings reserved
• 2 fennel bulbs
• finely chopped
• trimmings reserved
• 1 red chilli
• finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• lightly crushed
• 300ml/10½fl oz white wine
• 1kg/2lb 2oz fresh razor clams
• washed and drained
• 110g/4oz fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
• 20g/¾oz Pecorino cheese
• lime wedges
• to serve

Directions

• Preheat the grill to its highest setting.
• Heat a heavy-based frying pan until hot. Add 75g/2½oz of the butter
• the lemon thyme
• leeks
• fennel
• chilli and garlic and fry over a low heat until the vegetables are softened
• but not browned.
• Heat a deep-sided frying pan with a lid and add the remaining 75g/2½oz of butter and the leek and fennel trimmings and fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the white wine
• bring to the boil and cook to reduce by half the original volume.
• Add the razor clams. Cover with the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes
• or until the clams are open and just cooked (discard any clams that haven't opened). Pour the contents of the pan into a sieve over a heatproof bowl. Reserve the cooked razor clams and discard the remaining sieve contents.
• Add 200ml/7fl oz of the cooking juices to the softened fennel
• leek and chilli mixture and boil to reduce the liquid by half.
• Meanwhile remove the clam flesh from the shells. Slice the clam meat on an angle into 1cm/½in pieces
• then add to the pan of reduced vegetable mixture.
• Wash the razor clam shells and place onto a baking sheet
• then spoon the clam and vegetable mixture into the shells.
• Place the sourdough breadcrumbs and Pecorino into a food processor and blend to combine.
• Sprinkle the breadcrumb and cheese mixture over the filled shells then place under the grill and cook until the topping is golden-brown.
• Serve on plates with wedges of lime.