Known to most as Cannolicchio, but also called Canol in Emilia Romagna, Canello in the Marches, Manego de coutelo in Liguria, Manico de coltel in Friuli, Capalonda in Veneto, Arrasoias in Sardinia or Manicaio in Tuscany, together with clams and mussels it is a indispensable presence on the summer and marine tables of gourmets.
Its scientific name is Solen marginatus, and like cockles or clams it loves to hide in sandy bottoms.
It lives from a few meters to over 20 meters deep, it stands upright, buried in the sand and is practically invisible. Its presence is revealed only by the ends of the siphons which form two holes visible in the sand with a shape similar to an 8. It is very suspicious and for this reason, as it warns that someone wants to fish it, it manages to escape in depth, making itself uncatchable. The vacationers who take advantage of the low tide in the early morning to take a walk on the shoreline in search of the two forettini know something about it. If they are not faster than Cannolicchio they are destined to remain dry.
It is generally 12 to 15 centimeters long, but can also reach 17 centimeters and the color varies from light brown to yellow.
In Italy it is easily found in the Tyrrhenian Sea and in the upper Adriatic and there are several different and similar species, it is also present in the eastern Atlantic, in Morocco, on the French coasts up to the Baltic Sea.
With a very delicate flavour, like lupins and cockles, it should be eaten alive in order to enjoy all its marine flavour.
It is not only liked by men, who have eaten it since ancient times, Apicius also speaks of it in his De Re Coquinaria, but also by fish and birds: the most gluttonous devourers of razor clams are, in fact, sea bream, croaker , bream, striped sea eagles. When they stay dry, even seagulls are prey.
It is a mollusk that loves clean waters, and when there is pollution it disappears. For years no trace of it had been seen on the coasts of Lazio, then it reappeared 20 years ago to the delight of the chefs of the coast.
But his enemy is often also man.
The Solen marginatus are fished professionally with turbo blower dredges which penetrate about 20-25 centimeters into the sandy bottom, a highly harmful practice for the marine habitat, given that everything that is in the underlying seabed is sucked up, which is why to practice this fishing you need a special license. But it often happens that this fishing is carried out indiscriminately even by unprofessional fishermen even in the months of reproduction, thus compromising the renaissance of this tasty protagonist of spaghetti, soups and summer grills.
Unlike in Italy, breeding practices have been started in Spain.
Living in the sand, filtering the water in search of food, it ends up forfeiting considerable quantities of sand, which is why it is necessary before consuming them - obviously having bought them alive - to put them prudently to purge in a basin immersed in a solution of water and salt for time needed to eliminate all impurities.
Once this indispensable operation has been done, we can then indulge ourselves in preparing it. It can be eaten raw accompanied by a drop of lemon and a sprinkling of pepper, or sautéed in a pan to make it a sauce for spaghetti or sautéed, or cooked on the grill or grilled or wonderfully baked au gratin with breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley. The recommendation is to observe very rapid cooking times in order not to compromise the exceptional flavor or its remarkable nutritional qualities since it is rich in mineral salts that are important for the body such as sodium, phosphorus and iron. It is also an excellent source of protein (15%), and like cockles or clams, being low in fat, it is recommended for those who follow a low-calorie diet.
Roberto Serra, chef of the Su Carduleo restaurant in Abbasanta, in the province of Oristano, one of the three Bib Gourmands of the Michelin Guide in Sardinia, has set up his restaurant on a 100% island cuisine, which enhances and respects the products of his beloved Sardinia. His is a cuisine "in love with the territory", as he himself defines it, and is divided with equal passion between meat and fish.
Its recurring claim is “Sentimento, never recipe. Good things don't come from a recipe, but from a thought."
Trained at the hotel management school in Arzachena, Roberto Serra then had an absolutely respectable course, first passing through the Hotel Cervo and the Cala di Volpe, on the Costa Smeralda, and through the Grand Hotel in Florence. From Florence he then moved to London, to Harry's Bar under the wise guidance of Alberico Penati, the Casanatese chef admitted to the court of the great Angelo Paracucchi in the Carpaccio restaurant in the Royal Monceau hotel in Paris, then moved to London where he opened the Alberico at Aspinall's restaurant, who quickly gained international fame, a master who profoundly marked the professional life of Roberto Serra. Which, I don't pay, enriches his culinary experience and refines his tools and his knowledge with Bruno Barbieri at Villa del Quar in Verona and with Gianfranco Vissani, in Baschi.
To the readers of First&food Roberto Serra offers one of his successful classics, a dish with a great flavor, where the immediacy of the marine taste is perceived, which has the advantage of being easy to make and of great satisfaction for the palate, with the elegant combination with poor elements of the earth such as beets and courgette flowers.
ROBERTO SERRA'S RECIPE:
Razor clams in Vernaccia sauce with chard soup, toasted bread and courgette flowers
Ingredients for 4 people.
16 razor clams already purged
1 glass of Vernaccia di Oristano DOC
1 bunch Fresh chard
1 clove of garlic, dried tomato and onion (minced)
8 peeled cherry tomatoes
Toasted homemade bread
4 courgette flowers
Extra virgin olive oil
Chilli (optional)
Method
Open the razor clams in a pan with oil and garlic, then sprinkle with the Vernaccia and shell.
Prepare the chard soup: Prepare a vegetable broth separately. Then brown the garlic in a saucepan, add the chopped onion, followed by sun-dried tomato, chard, and cook. Dilute to your taste with the vegetable broth.
On the side, toast the slices of bread and clean the courgette flowers.
Plating
When the soup is cooked, place the chard in a plate, then the razor clams and the toasted bread. As a garnish, place a peeled cherry tomato and fresh courgette flowers.
