and cook in the microwave on full power for 1 minute. Alternatively
warm over a gentle heat in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Wash and scrub the cockles and mussels carefully
scraping off the beards from the mussels. Rinse in plenty of clean water
and discard any mussels that are open or do not close when tapped with a knife.
Bring the wine
onion and parsley stalks to the boil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the cockles and mussels
cover and boil vigorously for 3-4 minutes
or until all the cockles and mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that remain closed. Drain into a colander with a bowl underneath to catch all that precious cooking liquid. Reserve the broth and
as soon as they are cool enough
remove about two-thirds of the cockles and mussels from their shells.
Place both the shelled cockles and mussels and the ones in their shells in a saucepan and pour the reserved broth over them
leaving behind the last few spoonfuls of liquid
as it will be quite gritty.
Cook the spaghettini in plenty of boiling
salted water according to the packet instructions.
Meanwhile
heat the cockles and mussels in the broth
adding the chilli and garlic oil to the pan. Add the herbs
reserving some of the chopped parsley to garnish. Do not allow to boil or continue to cook as the cockles and mussels will toughen.
Drain the spaghettini
toss the pasta with the cockles and mussels mixture
