Tiny 'Clams' the Size of Corn Kernals

[PopsicleToze]

A friend of mine was telling us stories of his trip to Europe, and he recalled one particular dish he ordered in Spain. I have never seen these things, so I have no idea of what they are. He said he was in a restaurant where no one spoke English. He couldn't understand the menu, so he just ordered anything. He received a dish of what he described as very tiny clams cooked, may be steamed, in some wine or broth. There was nothing else to accompany them, and he had no idea how to eat them. I asked if they were as small as a fingernail -- no, much smaller -- the size of popcorn kernals. At first he thought he should eat them whole, but their exteriors were very hard. He tried opening a few, but he said he would have been there all night doing that. Finally, he just gave up.

I know him well enough that I know he's not pulling my leg, and he asked me to find out what they were and how they were to be eaten?

Anything?

Thanks!

[pedro]

Cooked clams open themselves during the cooking process. In fact, you should leave aside and not try to open the ones that remain closed, since that's a hint that something is wrong with them (only the closed ones, you can safely eat the rest).

So, if they were clams and they were cooked, they should have been opened. Where in Spain did he had this dish?

The smallest clam I know of that could be served in Spain is coquina, which is larger than what you describe. Perhaps other fellows around know of other type of clams that fit in with your description.

[Susan in FL]

Infanticide.

Actually, I don't know, but it reminded me of clams on many restaurant menus, usually called Little Necks, which are entirely too small. You have to put about six or eight in your mouth at once for a decent little taste.

I realize that is not what you're talking about, but just thought I would mention that and watch this thread to see what this might be.

[Chloe]

Percebes without the edible part?

Chloe

Ponte de Lima

[bainesy]

Tellinas?

They can be tiny, and from what I recall they can be served as a plain unadorned dish in the Valencia region. They're beautiful tiny shellfish, and worth extricating from the shells - maybe your friend should have more patience, and eat them like the English eat (some) shellfish - with a cocktail stick...?

If the shells remain shut after cooking of course, they should be discarded as usual.

[PopsicleToze]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will do some checking and see if I can find a picture of what you suggested to see if they were it.

By the way, the little clams were open -- sorry my initial post wasn't clear. It was just that they were extremely small and he found it hard to get the meat, but he did eat several. (Patience is not exactly this man's best quality feature!)

Thanks again.

Rhonda

[Bux]

I've never run across clams that didn't open up when cooked, except for those few that should be discarded and I've never seen a variety of clam or clam-like seafood that was as small as a corn kernal. I've seen some pretty small clams. Tellinas are tiny, but I don't think they're that tiny and one shouldn't have to pry them open when they're cooked. I don't think they're eaten raw and the original poster wrote of clams that were cooked.

[bainesy]

Bux, by 'plain and unadorend' I didn't mean raw - I have seen Tellinas served in a dish simply steamed open (in fact I cooked them like that when I was in Denia earlier this year). They were tiny, but opened up like normal shellfish on cooking, and were well worth the trouble of eating.

Rhonda, you haven't said yet whereabouts in Spain your friend encountered these?

[pedro]

According to Davidson's Mediterranean Seafood, tellina and coquina refer to the same mollusc, Donax trunculus or wedge shell. Maximum size, somewhere between 3 and 5 cm.

Other possibilty would be the Chamelea gallina, known as chirla in Spain.

The last possibility is that your friend was slightly exaggerating to add some colour to his history .

[pedro]

You can see some pictures of different clams at Pedramol . Search in your browser for the words coquina and chirla, and you'll see the pictures to their left.

[balex]

The inside bit of telline is about the size of a kernel of corn, the shell is normally about 1 - 1.5 cm long.

You can also eat them raw -- you can open them with your fingernail.

[PopsicleToze]

Tellinas?

They can be tiny, and from what I recall they can be served as a plain unadorned dish in the Valencia region. They're beautiful tiny shellfish, and worth extricating from the shells - maybe your friend should have more patience, and eat them like the English eat (some) shellfish - with a cocktail stick...?

If the shells remain shut after cooking of course, they should be discarded as usual.

I've searched and searched for Tellinas via google search, and while I can find recipes and menus listing them, I haven't found a picture. I'll keep looking. It sounds promising.

[PopsicleToze]

Bux, by 'plain and unadorend' I didn't mean raw - I have seen Tellinas served in a dish simply steamed open (in fact I cooked them like that when I was in Denia earlier this year). They were tiny, but opened up like normal shellfish on cooking, and were well worth the trouble of eating.

Rhonda, you haven't said yet whereabouts in Spain your friend encountered these?

Because he didn't tell me where he was, and I neglected to ask. I will press him for more information when I see him next, which might be tomorrow, or at the latest Monday. He went to Spain maybe 10 years ago, and he described the dish this past week from memory when we were talking about unique food experiences.

[PopsicleToze]

The inside bit of telline is about the size of a kernel of corn, the shell is normally about 1 - 1.5 cm long.

You can also eat them raw -- you can open them with your fingernail.

This sounds like it fits the description. Have you eaten them? Just pick them up with your hands, open with a fingernail and use hands? seafood fork? to put them to your mouth??

If someone could find a picture of a big bowl of these...

[pedro]

Until not that many years ago, coquinas where almost neglected and you could find them in many beaches in the eastern coast of Spain, grab a handful of them and have them as a starter at home. Recently, their price has soared, and now it's almost impossible to find them in the beaches and their capture has become a matter of professional fishermen.

I for one, eat them picking them with your hand and putting them in your mouth, as I generally do with clams and oyster presented in their own shell.

Coquinas are easily recognized because of their oval form, narrow and long in relative terms. Did you look to the link I provided? It's not a bowl, but it's quite distinctive of how a coquina (or tellina, if you prefer) looks like.

For a bowl, take a look to:

Malaga's Coquinas

[bainesy]

Here's a page with a picture (scroll down to 'Telline') of what I recall - like pretty little pebbles.

Click

[balex]

The inside bit of telline is about the size of a kernel of corn, the shell is normally about 1 - 1.5 cm long.

You can also eat them raw -- you can open them with your fingernail.

This sounds like it fits the description. Have you eaten them? Just pick them up with your hands, open with a fingernail and use hands? seafood fork? to put them to your mouth??

If someone could find a picture of a big bowl of these...

The correct plural is "telline" (Italian) which may be why web search didn't work so well. Yes, I have eaten them quite often. They are very good, but fiddly. I eat them like clams -- pick some out with a fork when they easy, and just pick up the shell and slurp them out for the others. After a while you get good at it...

Generally they are cooked -- like clams. Though for some reason you have them more with linguine whereas clams must be with spaghetti.

(edited because I put three 'l's in the middle)

Edited June 28, 2004 by balex (log)

[vserna]

The correct plural is "tellline" (Italian)

Not in Spain. It's tellines in the Valencian dialect of Catalan. For all other Spaniards, it's coquinas.

[MiguelCardoso]

Yup, they're conquilhas in Portugal.

They're still cheap (about 8 euros for a good-sized "travessa", though slightly dearer than cockles ["berbigão]) but they're as delicious and ever.

In Portugal, they're always served "à Bulhão Pato", opened momentarily in olive oil, fresh coriander and garlic, which is the traditional way of serving clams. Cockles are best just steamed and sprayed with lemon juice. They can be very tiny but they're worth the trouble, as they're incredibly sweet and tender. As we say, they repay the "mão de obra" (the labour cost).

In the Algarve - notably in the Vila Lisa restaurant in Mexilhoeira Grande, already referred to by members here - they make a delicious "sopa de conquilhas" (a garlicky broth) and and an "açorda de conquilhas" - a delectably mushy mixture of bread, fresh coriander and garlic.

When I was a boy, conquilhas were so cheap we had them every day with our first evening glass of beer. They're still a tremendous bargain, though.

Though not as easy to find as they used to be, of course. :(

[pedro]

Rhonda, have you reached a conclusion about what your friend had that day? Just curious to see if they were coquinas or not...

[Susan G]

I just got back from Sardinia (which was part of the Spanish empire until Italy got it back) and linguine con vonguole always came with these tiny clams. Had no idea what to call them..........my they were tasty!

[vserna]

Susan: I believe the Italian vongole is what we call chirlas in Spain - not coquinas/tellines/telline. Not to be confused with vongole veraci either - these are the large European clams.

[pedro]

Víctor, I'd say you're right. According to Davidson, vongola verace is referred in English as Carpet Shell, whereas the coquina/tellina is known as Wedge Shell.

[PopsicleToze]

When I told him it was probably Tellinas, he just took my word for it. I'm going to print out the thread so he can read it. When I told him he should have used his fingers to get to the things, he said, "You've got to be shittin' me???" He said he would have been there all night. So, I offered to help him the next go 'round A man of patience, he's not

[vserna]

Let's see. For many years, at Les Platgetes in Castellón, I spent half of my morning at the beach on my knees, in shallow water, feeling under the sand for the coquinas, and putting them in a plastic bag. That's one problem they have: they live in the sand, and are often gorged with it. You don't need to open them with your hands or a knife, of course. You just steam them briefly or place them on a hot 'plancha', and they open naturally, like any other clam. Then you may be well-advised to run a fresh water stream on them to remove the sand, pat them dry, pour some fresh lemon juice on them, and that's iy. Of course, you need 40-50 clams per person for a decent appetizer, at these sizes...