. COCKLE. 53 



liquor and a little water, thicken with flour and butter, 

 adding pepper, salt, a little rnace, and some cream. 



Soyer's Porridge of Cockles, oysters or mussels, for 

 the poor. They make a most nourishing and palatable 

 food, and on the coast a very economical one. Take 

 two dozen oysters, or if you use cockles or mussels, 

 take a quart of either, put them into an earthen jar 

 with their liquor, and three tablespoonfuls of flour; 

 place it on the fire, and stir them round and round ; 

 add a little salt and pepper, and they are done. Eat 

 them thus, or add them to soup or porridge. A little 

 dripping or lard is an improvement, also a bay-leaf, 

 mint, or an onion sliced. 



Scalloped Cockles. Wash the cockles well, then 

 scald some dozens of them ; strain the liquor into a 

 stew-pan, and add thereto two ounces of butter, mixed 

 with two ounces of flour, a little cream, anchovy, nutmeg, 

 and cayenne ; stir the sauce over the fire, to boil and 

 reduce, for ten minutes, then add a couple of yolks of 

 eggs, a little lemon-juice, and some chopped parsley ; 

 add the cockles ; stir all together over the fire for a few 

 minutes, and fill some scallop shells with this prepara- 

 tion. Cover them over with a thick coating of fried 

 bread-crumbs ; place them on a baking-sheet in the 

 oven for five minutes, and serve hot.* 



Ragout of Cockles. Clean your cockles, open them 

 and take them out of their shells, toss up some mush- 

 rooms in butter, put in your cockles with a bunch of 

 sweet herbs, and moisten the whole with half of their 

 own liquor, and as much fish-broth ; add some parsley 

 shred small, and some pepper ; when ready, thicken 



* Francatelli. 



