Cooking Whelks

Have you ever wondered how to cook a Whelk? These little ocean beauties are pretty easy to prepare and they make for a great dish if they are prepared correctly

 Ingredients

1kg fresh whelks

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stick of celery, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

A few sprigs of thyme

10 white peppercorns

½ tsp fennel seeds

½ a lemon

15ml white wine vinegar

Method 

Sprinkle a good handful of salt on the whelks and leave in a bowl for about an hour. Then wash the whelks under cold running water or leave them to soak in fresh water for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile put the rest of the ingredients into a pan with about 1 ½ litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the whelks and simmer gently for 30 minutes for small ones or 50 minutes for large ones. Leave them in the cooking liquor to cool.

Happy Eating