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2 onions, chopped
½ fennel bulb, sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
½ tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
2 tbsp tomato purée
100ml Pernod
300ml white wine
2 litres fish stock
2 bay leaves
zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon
50g tarragon sprigs
2 tbsp double cream
FOR THE LOBSTER CLAW TOASTS
zest of ½ lemon
1 spring onion
a small handful of chives
1 large egg
2 slices of white sourdough bread or 1 huge slice
sunflower oil, for shallow-frying
FOR THE TARRAGON DIP
6 tbsp mayonnaise
6 tbsp crème fraîche
zest and juice of 2 limes
a handful of tarragon sprigs, leaves roughly chopped
FOR THE SUMMER VEGETABLE AND LOBSTER CIGARS
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 small mint sprig, leaves shredded
4 sheets of spring roll pastry
1 courgette, cut into thin strips
1 egg, beaten
sunflower oil, for deep-frying
If you’ve caught your own lobsters or are buying live ones, you’ll need to kill them before cooking. Put the live lobsters into the freezer for 30 minutes to sedate them. Once sedated, lie one flat, stomach side down, on a chopping board. Spike it firmly and quickly with a large sharp knife in the base of its head and swiftly cut straight down. Repeat with the other lobster. They are now ready to cook.
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil with a large pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the lobsters and set the timer to boil for 8 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pan and refresh in iced water. Now continue with the preparation for cooked lobsters.
If you’re buying cooked lobsters, start here. Separate the claws and tail from the body: this can be done simply by twisting them. Now it’s time to pick out the tail meat. Try to keep it whole and pull it out in one piece, cutting down the back and discarding the intestinal vein. Put it onto a plate. Crack the claws with a nutcracker and pick the meat out into a bowl. Reserve the body shells. You are now ready to start cooking the different dishes.
To make the lobster bisque, heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a high heat and fry the lobster body shells for 5 minutes or until coloured and fragrant. Remove the shells and add the celery, garlic, onions, fennel, chilli and spices, then cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute. Then deglaze the pan with the Pernod, stirring to pick up the flavours in the pan. Add the wine and stock, then return the lobster body shells to the pan. Add the bay leaves, lemon zest and tarragon, and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes.
Pass the liquid through a fine sieve, discarding the other ingredients, then return it to the pan and cook over a high heat to reduce it by about one-quarter; this will take about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep aside until ready to serve.
To make the lobster claw toasts, put the claw meat in the bowl of a food processor and add the lemon zest, spring onion, chives and egg. Season with salt and pepper, then blitz. (Alternatively, chop the ingredients finely using a sharp knife, then put in a bowl. Beat the egg and stir it in.) Spread this wet mix on top of the bread slices.
Add the oil to a depth of 1cm in a large frying pan and heat until hot. Fry the toasts, lobster side down first. Turn over after 1 minute and fry for another 1 minute on the other side until golden. Put to one side until ready to serve.
To make the tarragon dip, put the mayonnaise and crème fraîche in a bowl and add the lime zest and juice and the tarragon. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the summer vegetable and lobster cigars, shred the tail meat lengthways into long strips and place in a bowl. Add the lime zest and juice and the mint, and season with salt and pepper. Put to one side.
Lay out the spring roll pastry sheets, then cut each square in half diagonally to make eight triangles. Put the shredded lobster meat and courgette strips on the wide side of each triangle, then brush the edges of the pastry with the egg and roll up. Fold over the ends to close. The rolls are now ready to fry.
Fill a deep-fryer or a large heavy-based saucepan one-third full with oil and heat it to 175°C (test by frying a small cube of bread; it should brown in 40 seconds). Add the rolls and fry until golden. Serve the lobster cigars alongside the tarragon dip as a starter. Then when you’re ready for the bisque, warm it up on the stove and heat the toasts in a preheated oven for a few minutes so they are warm and crispy to serve.
WEST BRITON CRAB CLAWS WITH LEMON AND GARLIC BROTH
A fabulously messy thing to eat, these claws are served on a thick base of newspaper (the West Briton is particularly good!) with a hammer, a shellfish pick, a bucket for the shells and a bowl of lemon water for rinsing your hands.
Serves 4
1kg cooked crab claws
200g butter, softened
5 garlic cloves, crushed
a handful of parsley leaves, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
crusty bread, to serve
newspaper (West Briton ideally!), a hammer, or nut crackers, and shellfish picks or skewers
FOR THE BROTH
200g butter
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
2 bay leaves
200ml white wine
20g tarragon sprigs
10 black peppercorns
10 coriander seeds
2 tbsp sea salt
First, make the broth. Take a large saucepan that will hold the claws, add the butter and melt it over a medium heat. Add the garlic, lemon and bay leaves, and cook until the garlic just starts to colour. Pour in the wine and cook until reduced by half and there is no smell of alcohol. Add the remaining broth ingredients and 300ml water, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to bring the broth to a gentle boil, then add the crab claws and return to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes to heat through.
Transfer the crab claws and broth to a large serving bowl. Put the butter in a separate bowl and add the garlic, parsley and olive oil. Mix together well, then spoon over the hot crab claws and broth to make a buttery sauce.
Cover your table with sheets of the newspaper of your choice and put the bowl of crab claws and broth in the middle. You will also need a small hammer or nut crackers, a bucket for the shells and a bowl of lemon water for rinsing your hands.
To eat, scoop the crab claws out of the broth and crack with the hammer using just enough pressure to crack the shell without shattering it into lots of small pieces. Pull out the meat using the hard cartilage in the centre of the claw to help; if you are lucky it will come out in one piece. Alternatively, extract or pick out the meat using a shellfish pick or skewer. Mop up the buttery cooking broth with plenty of crusty bread.
FRITTO MISTO
There are no rules as to what you fry when making a fritto misto — it’s about a collection of flavours and textures. I’ve added some seafood here, but you can keep it veggie if you prefer. If you do include seafood in your fritto misto, put some aioli (see here (#litres_trial_promo)) out on the table too.
Serves 4
sunflower oil, for deep-frying
1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and finely sliced lengthways
1 fennel bulb, finely sliced lengthways
1 red onion, finely sliced lengthways
2 red peppers, deseeded and finely sliced lengthways
500g squid, cleaned, body sliced into fine rings and tentacles left whole
1 lemon, finely sliced into rings
a handful of drained tinned chickpeas, rinsed
1 chilli, finely chopped
a handful of mixed soft herbs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, cut into wedges, to serve
FOR THE BATTER
125g cornflour
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of sea salt
juice of 1 lemon
To make the batter, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Slowly add 275ml cold water while whisking to form a lump-free batter. Add the lemon juice and whisk once more. Put to one side while you prep your veg.
Fill a deep-fryer or a heavy-based saucepan one-third full with oil and heat it to 180°C (test by frying a small cube of bread; it should brown in 40 seconds). Dip the squash slices into the batter and then lower each one carefully into the hot oil. Cook for 3 minutes or until they start to caramelise then lift out of the pan using a slotted spoon and drain off the excess oil. Place on a few sheets of kitchen paper and dab dry.
Batter and cook the remaining vegetables, squid, lemon slices, chickpeas and chilli in the same way, although the softer ingredients will take slightly less time: 1–2 minutes.
Batter and fry the herbs separately — they will take less than a minute. Season all the battered ingredients with salt and pepper. Serve as a beautiful stack in the centre of the table, with wedges of lemon.
SCALLOP SALAD WITH HOG’S PUDDING, GINGERED PEAR AND WATERCRESS SALAD
Here is a classy lunch that is surprisingly simple to achieve. The flavours in this salad are quintessentially Cornish with the salty hog’s pudding and the delicate umami of the local scallops. The sweet and bitter notes of the gingered pear and watercress bring it all together. It is great with a glass of Camel Valley fizz.
Serves 4
2 pears, peeled, quartered and cored
a squeeze of lemon juice
