PIE:

8 oz. short-crust pastry
3 tbsp. chopped chives, spring onions, or green onion tops
8 oz. streaky bacon or salt pork, diced

1 c. cockle stock
4 c. cooked prepared cockles
Pepper
A little milk

Take a deep pie dish, damp the sides and line with thickly rolled short-crust pastry, leaving only enough for thin strips on top. Put a layer of cockles on the bottom, then a layer of chopped chives, then bacon, all seasoned with pepper, and repeat this until the dish is full, ending with a layer of cockles. Pour over the cockle stock. Damp the edges of the pastry and lay strips across, lattice fashion. Brush over with milk and bake in a hot 400 degree oven for about 1/2 hour or until the pastry is golden. Serve hot or cold with salad. Serves 4.

To prepare cockles: Scrub the shells well to get rid of sand and grit. Then put into a large saucepan, with preferably sea-water (or salted water) barely to cover. Put a lid on, then bring to boiling point, and continue boiling for 2 minutes or until shells are open. Leave until cook enough to handle, then remove from the shells with a sharp knife. Strain, and reserve cockle liquor.