- 10g borage
- 10g chives
- 10g curly parsley
- 10g chervil
- 100g/3½oz unsalted butter
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pinch salt
- 150ml/5fl oz cider vinegar
- 25g/1oz sugar
- 15g/½oz salt
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced into rings
- pinch fresh thyme leaves
- 1 star anise
- 3 juniper berries
- 3 black peppercorns
- 12 razor clams
- 50ml/2fl oz vegetable oil, for frying
- 15g toasted pine nuts
- 12 borage flowers
- For the borage butter, blanch all of the herbs in boiling water for 20 seconds and refresh in a bowl of ice-cold water.
- Drain the herbs thoroughly and put them into a food processor with the butter and blend. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
- Wrap the butter in cling film and roll into a ballotine (a sausage shape) and tie the ends. Place into the fridge for at least an hour (overnight is preferable).
- For the pickled shallots, put the cider vinegar into a pan with the sugar and salt. Add the shallots, thyme, star anise, juniper berries and black peppercorns. Bring to a boil before taking off the heat. Set aside to cool.
- For the clams, preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
- Clean the clam shells in cold running water. Discard any open clams that do not close when given a sharp tap.
- Put the clams in a pan with 1cm/½in boiling water. Put the lid on the pan and let the clams steam for three minutes.
- Take the clams out of the pan. Throw away any that have not opened. Remove the opened clams from their shells. Clean the shells and keep them for serving.
- Fry the clams in a splash of vegetable oil on one side until a light golden-brown colour. Flip onto the other side for a quick flash fry.
- Cut off the ends and the brown ‘stomach’. Add a pinch of salt.
- Place a slice of the herb butter into each clam shell. Put the clams on top of the butter.
- Put the clams and shells into the preheated oven until the butter has melted (approximately 30 seconds).
- To serve, arrange the clams on a plate. Place a few pickled shallots on the clams and garnish with pine nuts and borage flowers.