One year while researching ideas for our St. Patrick’s Sunday supper, I discovered that the Irish obsession with potatoes is not a myth. Page after page of old Irish “cookery books” reveal numerous formulas for the tuber, with whimsical names for each. I fell for champ, an Irish version of mashed potatoes flavored with a handful of finely sliced scallions. Since it was spring, I skipped the scallions and used lots of sliced green garlic instead. But the Irish don’t live on potatoes alone; seafood is actually the backbone of their diet. So I decided to celebrate their patron saint with something from the sea. I found lots of recipes for fish as well as tiny clams known as cockles. Trying to bring these Irish specialties together, I steamed the cockles with white wine and butter and then spooned them over the creamy green garlic champ. And what more Irish way to sop up those briny juices than with a savory brown scone?

　　

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 1/2 cups thinly sliced spring onions plus 1 cup thinly sliced spring onion tops

　　1 tablespoon thyme leaves

　　3 pounds cockles, or small Manila clams, well scrubbed

　　1/2 cup white wine

　　1 cup chicken stock

　　1 3/4 cups peas (from 2 pounds in the pod)

　　6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

　　1/2 lemon, for juicing

　　1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

　　4 ounces pea shoots

　　Green garlic champ (recipe follows)

　　Brown scones (recipe follows)

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Green garlic champ

1 1/2 pounds fingerling or small yellow potatoes

　　4 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green garlic

　　1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves

　　1/4 cup heavy cream

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Brown scones

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

　　3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

　　3 tablespoons granulated sugar

　　1 teaspoon kosher salt

　　2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

　　9 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

　　1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

　　(makes 12 scones)

　　

Step 1

Heat a large wide-bottomed sauté pan or Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in the olive oil and wait 1 minute. Add the spring onions, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are just wilted. Add the cockles to the pan, and stir well to coat them with the onions and oil. Cook 2 minutes, add the white wine, and cover the pan.

　　

Step 2

Steam the cockles 3 to 4 minutes, until they open. Remove the lid and pour in the stock. When the stock comes to a boil, add the peas. Cook 1 minute and then add the butter, stirring to incorporate. Season with a squeeze of lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Discard any unopened cockles.

　　

Step 3

Quickly toss the parsley, pea shoots, and spring onion tops into the pot. Stir just until the greens begin to wilt, and transfer to a warm large shallow bowl.

　　

Step 4

Serve with the green garlic champ, and pass around the warm brown scones.

　　

Green garlic champ

Step 5

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water for about 15 minutes, until tender. (The cooking time will depend on the size and type of potato.) When the potatoes have just cooled, crush them slightly on a cutting board with the heel of your hand or the back of a large spoon.

　　

Step 6

Heat a medium pot over high heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, and when it foams, add the green garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the green garlic has softened.

　　

Step 7

Add the potatoes, stirring and mashing them to incorporate all of the ingredients. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave the pot on the stove. When you are ready to serve the champ, make sure it’s hot, and then stir in the cream. Taste for seasoning.

　　

Brown scones

Step 8

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

　　

Step 9

Place the flours, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a food processor, and process 30 seconds, until well combined.

　　

Step 10

Add the butter and pulse about ten times, until the mixture is a coarse meal.

　　

Step 11

With the machine running, quickly pour in 1 cup of the buttermilk. Stop the machine as soon as the dough comes together. It’s important not to overwork the dough.

　　

Step 12

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and bring it together with your hands into a large ball. Divide the dough into three pieces, and shape each of them into a 5-inch-wide disc. Cut each disc into quarters.

　　

Step 13

Brush the tops of the scones with a little buttermilk. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, until the scones are golden brown.

　　

Note

Step 14

Most of the cooking for this dish needs to be done right before serving. You can boil and smash the potatoes earlier in the day, but don’t make the champ ahead or your green garlic will turn brown. Also, do not add the cream until just before serving. Of course you can slice the spring onions and green garlic, wash the cockles, and prep the herbs ahead of time. The scones can be made earlier in the day but are best right out of the oven! (If you must make them earlier, warm them in the oven just before serving.)

　　

Step 15

To release any bits of sand from the cockles, soak them in milk and water with a handful of cornmeal for 10 minutes or so and then rinse them in cold water.

　　Sunday Suppers at Lucques[by Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber. Copyright © 2005 by Suzanne Goin. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved..Suzanne Goin graduated from Brown University. She was named Best Creative Chef by Boston magazine in 1994, one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine in 1999, and was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2003, 2004, and 2005. She and her business partner, Caroline Styne, also run the restaurant A.O.C. in Los Angeles, where Goin lives with her husband, David Lentz.Teri Gelber is a food writer and public-radio producer living in Los Angeles.](http://astore.amazon.com/epistore-20/detail/1400042151)