Primary flavors of the sea

When the subject of shellfish with marine flavor comes up, oysters are always pitted against barnacles, with some grand spectators, the grooved carpet shell clams, which, when giant, also deserve unbridled praise. But in the course of discussion, two excellent species typically found on the Andalusian coast are almost always forgotten; because of their abundance, moderate price and popularity they can still be easily found in fishermen’s markets. We are referring to hard shell clams and sea nettles.

The first, eaten raw for their primal marine flavor, are known by various names depending on where they are harvested: “bolos” or “piedras” in Málaga, Almería and Granada, “escopiñas grabadas” on the rest of the Mediterranean coast and “carneiros” or “carneirolos” in Galicia and Italy; in short, a veritable Tower of Babel to refer to a single mollusk. Its scientific name is Venus verrucosa, and it has two subspecies, common and pink. This animal lives buried in sandy, muddy depths, as much in the shallows as in deep water; it has an almost circular shell with marked grooves parallel to the edge and warty knots. From a gastronomic point of view these clams, which for their size can sometimes be compared to large grooved carpet shell clams, are absolutely exquisite, especially if those in the kitchen take care to remove the remnants of sand from their stomachs by leaving them for enough time in sea water. Their meat is dark, elastic, smooth, very juicy and potent with sea essence. Cooking them is unthinkable—they must be consumed raw.

One establishment that always has hard shell clams with guaranteed freshness is La Dorada restaurant in Málaga (c/ Emilio Díaz, 46 - Ciudad Jardín - Phone: +34 952257954; closed Sunday evenings, Mondays and in August; reservations a must). They are also recommendable at Cucas restaurant (c/ Barlovento, 1 - Torrenueva, Motril, Granada - Phone: +34 958835638; closed Mondays, reservations a must).

Sea nettles are another seafood that, for their abundance and wonderful flavor, are growing as a real delicacy on the Andalusian coast, as well as in some restaurants of haute cuisine. Born as a fried food during the shortages of post-war Spain in the Bay of Cadiz, a place where people have always known how to transform necessity into an asset. These coelenterates belonging to the species Anemonia sulcata (the only existing sea anemone in the Mediterranean, which when living has a strong stinging capacity) are especially abundant in the cliffs near the straight of Gibraltar, and even more so off the coast of Málaga and Granada at coastal depths of 10-15 meters.

Bright green-purple in color when fished, these anemones deteriorate noticeably in appearance, texture and flavor after spending a few hours in the refrigerator. Hence the difficulty in transporting them outside of coastal restaurants and bars and the noticeable difference between the fresh product and that which is vacuum sealed. Sea nettles are usually fried, seeking the contrast between their crunchy tentacles and their gelatinous insides, succulent and replete with marine delicacy. In fact, they are colloquially called “sea brains” among gourmets! With respect to the way in which sea nettles are fried, there are two somewhat different methods depending on the gastronomic quality desired. If crunchiness is the main goal, the anemones are fried at 180ºC after being coated in flour. If, on the other hand, one seeks to preserve the gelatinous quality of the interior as much as possible to enhance the iodized marine flavor, they are battered a couple of hours before frying and placed in the freezer so that the heat of the oil penetrates more slowly, leaving them crunchy on the outside and runny on the inside—a method that has received the pastry-like name of “anemones coulant”.

The best fried anemones are obviously had in Andalusia, especially in the form of bar tapas—worthy of mention are those at Casablanca, in Seville (Zaragoza 50, Phone: +34 954224698, closed Sundays and in August, reservations a must for dining room seating), El Espigón I, also in Seville (Bogotá 1, Phone: +34 954239256, closed Sundays), El Campero, in Barbate, Cádiz (Avda. de la Constitución, building 5 C, Phone: +34 956432300, closed Tuesdays from October to January, open every day the rest of the year) and in the “coulant” variety, at FM in Granada (Ctra. de Jaén 54, Phone: +34 958157004, closed Mondays, July and August), exceptional temple of the ingredient.