Buttered Cockles with Peas, Pea Shoots, Green Garlic Champ, and Brown Scones

Name: Buttered Cockles with Peas, Pea Shoots, Green Garlic Champ, and Brown Scones
Ingredients: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced spring onions plus 1 cup thinly sliced spring onion tops; 1 tablespoon thyme leaves; 3 pounds cockles, or small Manila clams, well scrubbed; 1/2 cup white wine; 1 cup chicken stock; 1 3/4 cups peas (from 2 pounds in the pod); 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; 1/2 lemon, for juicing; 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; 4 ounces pea shoots; Green garlic champ (recipe follows); Brown scones (recipe follows); Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 pounds fingerling or small yellow potatoes; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green garlic; 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves; 1/4 cup heavy cream; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour; 3 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder; 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes; 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk; (makes 12 scones)

January 24, 2012

One year while researching ideas for our St. Patrick’s Sunday supper, I discovered that the Irish obsession with potatoes is not a myth. Page after page of old Irish “cookery books” reveal numerous formulas for the tuber, with whimsical names for each. I fell for champ, an Irish version of mashed potatoes flavored with a handful of finely sliced scallions. Since it was spring, I skipped the scallions and used lots of sliced green garlic instead. But the Irish don’t live on potatoes alone; seafood is actually the backbone of their diet. So I decided to celebrate their patron saint with something from the sea. I found lots of recipes for fish as well as tiny clams known as cockles. Trying to bring these Irish specialties together, I steamed the cockles with white wine and butter and then spooned them over the creamy green garlic champ. And what more Irish way to sop up those briny juices than with a savory brown scone?

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