Cafe de Paris cockles and milk bread

Simply steamed cockles are tossed with rich Café de Paris butter and served with soft demi brioche milk bread for soaking up all of those delicious juices. The butter packs anchovy, capers, herbs and citrus into a savoury, tangy spread that elevates the cockles, while purple sprouting broccoli adds colour and a bite to this nut-free, restaurant-style dish.

By Peter McKenna
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes

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This Café de Paris cockles and milk bread rates Nutri-Score E. The butter and bread make this dish rich and indulgent, so treat Café de Paris cockles as a special, restaurant-style meal rather than an everyday dish. The cockles and broccoli add protein and fibre to balance the richness.

Estimated nutrition (per serving, 4): kcal ~920–1080, fat ~48–58g, saturated fat ~28–36g, carbs ~78–92g, sugars ~18–24g, fibre ~4–6g, protein ~22–28g.

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Method

Make Café de Paris butter (prep: 15 mins)

1. Fry shallots and garlic until soft. To make the butter, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and fry the banana shallots and garlic until soft. Set aside to cool. Soft shallots and garlic give the Café de Paris butter a sweet, savoury base for the cockles.
2. Combine all butter ingredients. Combine the shallot mixture with the chillies, capers, anchovy paste, Worcestershire and tomato sauces, herbs, spices, mustard, zest of the whole lemon and juice of half, blood orange zest. Add cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well then stir through the softened butter. This creates the rich, tangy, herb-packed Café de Paris butter that elevates the cockles.

Make demi brioche milk bread (prep: 20 mins, prove: 1 hour, cook: 8–10 mins)

1. Combine dry ingredients with tangzhong and butter. To make the milk bread, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with the tangzhong and softened butter and mix. Tangzhong paste makes the demi brioche milk bread soft and tender.
2. Add eggs and milk, then knead. Add the eggs and milk and mix again. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead for 10 minutes. Kneading develops the dough structure for fluffy demi brioche milk bread.
3. Roll into balls and prove. Roll into balls, place on a baking tray, loosely covered and leave in a warm place to prove for an hour. Proving lets the dough rise so the demi brioche milk bread is light and soft.
4. Bake the bread. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Place the dough balls into small loaf tins and bake for 8–10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, glaze with some butter and set aside. Glazing gives the demi brioche milk bread a golden, glossy finish perfect for soaking up Café de Paris cockles juices.

Cook the cockles (cook: 2–3 mins)

1. Check cockles are safe to cook. To make the cockles, discard any cockles with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. This ensures the cockles are fresh and safe to eat.
2. Steam cockles with wine and broccoli. Heat a large lidded saucepan over a medium-high heat and add the cockles, purple sprouting broccoli and wine to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes until cooked. Discard any cockles that remain closed. Steaming with wine and broccoli gives the cockles flavour and colour.
3. Coat cockles with Café de Paris butter. Drain the cockles and coat them with the Café de Paris butter. The butter adds rich, savoury, tangy flavour to the cockles.
4. Serve with brioche alongside. Serve with the brioche alongside. The soft demi brioche milk bread is perfect for soaking up all of those delicious Café de Paris cockles butter juices.

Helpful tip: Make the Café de Paris butter ahead of time and let it chill slightly so it’s easier to spread. The butter tastes even better after resting, and the demi brioche milk bread is perfect for soaking up every drop of the rich cockles juices.