Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato (Portuguese Clams)

On the beaches of southern Portugal a curious sight is afoot.

It's a sunny afternoon in early summer. Tourists and locals mingle on the Praia da Falésia, a six kilometre stretch of glorious red cliff-backed beaches that run from Albufeira to Quarteira. The jade waters of this part of the Algarve caress the crimson sand, a perfect visual manifestation of Portugal's green and red bandeira.

The beach is packed. Oiled-up sunbathers jostle among towels and flappy parasols, and children dive into the waves. A few excitable dogs play fetch in the shallows.

It's a typical summer scene except here, in this pocket of Portugal, some people are on the hunt. For buried treasure.

Men and women of all ages stand in the low tide, bent over, scouring the sand for their reward. But these treasure hunters aren't armed with maps or metal detectors. And the bounty in question is not lost pirate gold or Moorish jewellery (although neither would be surprising in these parts). No, the treasure here is undeniably more lively and... tasty.

Clams!

Up and down the beach throngs of people can be spotted marauding for these tiny molluscs. This is obviously serious business. And some clearly have more experience than others, clam connoisseurs carrying bottles and buckets filled to the brim with hundreds of shiny wet shells. That's dinner sorted then.

I can feel my hunter-gatherer instincts kick in. Supermarkets are for soft city-dwellers, I tell myself. This is the real world where people catch clams. Primal adrenaline courses through me. I can almost feel the triumph of bringing home dinner to my adoring loved ones.

I watch the local catchers intently, like some weird clam stalker, trying to pick up on the secrets of their success. I mimic them, digging my heels into the sand, creating shallow trenches which fill with water with each passing tide to reveal the clams beneath.

However I'm left frustrated as my technique eludes me. All I seem to find are empty shells and stones. After about an hour and with dozens of trenches around me I've hauled in just three miserable clams. This has been a total failure.

The beach starts to thin as the sun lowers in the sky. Sandy and sweaty, I force myself to accept defeat and throw my clams back in the sea.

Later that evening we're at A Lagosteira, one of a clutch of delightful local seafood restaurants. Of course we're tucking into a steaming pile of mouthwatering clams, done "à Bulhão Pato" style with lashings of olive oil, lemon juice and coriander. My mind flashes back to the local catchers and I feel a pleasant sense of gratitude and admiration.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1kg fresh clams

2 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)

150ml dry white wine

1 lemon (cut into wedges)

Fresh coriander (roughly chopped)

Black pepper

Preparation (25min)

1. Clean the clams. Soak them in a bowl of cold salted water for 20min. Rinse thoroughly to remove any sand or grit.

2. In a pan on medium-high heat add the olive oil and fry the garlic (1min). Add the clams and stir. Add the wine and cook the alcohol off (1min). Cover and steam the clams for 5min or until they have all opened.

3. Add the coriander, the juice of one lemon wedge and a sprinkle of pepper. Serve!