Grilled Spicy Cockles

Güeyu Mar is one of the most extraordinary conservas producers in Spain — a project born from the legendary Asturian beachside restaurant of the same name, where chef Abel Alvarez built a global reputation for cooking fish and seafood over open wood fire on the Cantabrian shore. The conservas line is that philosophy in a tin: exceptional Cantabrian produce, grilled over open fire, preserved at its peak.

Cockles are one of the great underrated shellfish of the Cantabrian coast — small, intensely briny, and packed with a clean, oceanic flavour that belies their modest size. Güeyu Mar grills them before packing them in extra virgin olive oil with chilli, adding heat that builds slowly and complements rather than masks the natural sweetness of the shellfish. The result is a tin with real punch: briny, smoky, spicy, and deeply satisfying in a way that makes it almost impossible to stop eating. One of the more addictive things in the Güeyu Mar range.