A walk with a friend along the Venetian coast. The perfect time, the perfect weather. As we see all these amazing creatures coming up from under the wet sand, we cannot resist and start to pick them up. Our lunch is on its way!
The razor clams, called cappelunghe or ‘cape de deo’ or ‘tabachine‘ in the local dialect, are very tasty and very easy to cook.
Razor clams are generally eaten ‘a scotadeo’ (opened in a low pan with a lid, over a moderate heat, with chopped garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of black pepper), but they can also be cooked on the grill with oil, pepper and salt and accompanied by a dry white wine. In both cases you have to take care to remove them from the heat as soon as they start to shrink, otherwise they will become as hard as pieces of rubber!
We like them cooked in that simple way but in the Venetian tradition they can be prepared in many different way, including stews . And, if you are brave enough, you can eat the razor clams even raw. In principle, smaller sizes are preferred as they have more tender meat and a more delicate flavour.
Good appetite!