A Taste of Telline - - Unforgettable.

One of the most emblematic foods of the Camargue ( south of Avignon in Provence) is the telline, a small, flat, pearly shellfish, pale yellow and violet inside, found in estuaries providing a mix of salt and fresh water. According to tradition, these delicious mollusks were first fished and eaten right here, so long ago that no one remembers when. They were traditionally found buried two to three inches down in the sand and gathered by workers walking backwards, dragging baskets with built-in rakes. It’s a pleasure to eat these delicate shellfish. They can be found in regional markets, washed and cleaned of sand, and on the menus of many restaurants. They’re often served as a nibble with aperitifs, or as a starter, with an olive-oil mayonnaise thinned with a little of the cooking water.