Serves 6
Ingredients
Langoustines
12 extra-large raw langoustines
100g olive oil
50g unsalted butter
juice of 1/4 lemon
Buttermilk purée
1kg buttermilk
500g double cream
5g agar agar
5g xanthan gum
3.5g lemon juice
2.5g lecithin powder
Roasted heritage carrots
6 baby purple heritage carrots with tops
6 baby yellow heritage carrots with tops
6 baby orange heritage carrots with tops
100g duck fat
30g unsalted butter
Carrot purée
100g unsalted butter
500g carrots, peeled and finely sliced
100g double cream
100g milk
Buttermilk froth
50g milk
50g double cream
400g buttermilk
squeeze of lemon juice
1.5g xanthan gum
4g lecithin powder
100g Spiced Bread (see page 15), made into
fine breadcrumbs, to garnish
Method
Langoustines
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then blanch the langoustines for about 1 minute. Drain. While still slightly warm, shell the tails. Then, using nutcrackers, remove the meat from the claws (keep for another dish, such as tortellini, or serve with this dish for a slightly larger portion). Keep the langoustine tails and claw meat in the fridge until needed (or wrap and freeze the claw meat).
Buttermilk purée
Place the buttermilk and cream in a large saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, to reduce to 500g, being careful it doesn’t catch. Pour into a blender, add the other ingredients and blend for 2 minutes. Pour into a clean pan. Place back on the heat and bring up to just below boiling, then cook for 2 minutes. Pass through a sieve into a container and cool, then leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, to set. Put the set buttermilk in a blender and blend until smooth. Place in a squeezy bottle and set aside in a cool place until needed.
Roasted heritage carrots
Scrub the carrots carefully and cut each stem to 1cm long. Keep some of the better leaves; wash and keep in a container in the fridge until needed. Set a roasting tray with the duck fat on a high heat, add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes, tossing them around in the pan to make sure they are coated in the fat. Season and place in an oven preheated to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4. Cook for 10 minutes, adding the butter after 3 minutes and mixing it in. Remove the carrots from the tray and season again. Keep warm.
Carrot purée
Heat 50g butter in a saucepan, add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes without colouring. Add the cream and milk and cook for a further 15 minutes. The carrots should be very tender. Transfer to a blender and blend to a smooth purée, adding the remaining butter while still hot. Season and keep warm.
Buttermilk froth
Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the buttermilk and lower the heat to a simmer. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Pour into a blender and turn on at a medium speed. Remove the central lid and add the xanthan gum and lecithin to the vortex in the centre of the machine. Blend for 2 minutes. Pass through a sieve into a saucepan and season. Keep warm.
Sautéeing the langoustines
Season the langoustine tails. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and, when you can feel the heat coming off the pan, quickly sauté the langoustine tails for 30 seconds on one side. Add the butter and flip over the langoustine tails, then remove the pan from the heat and allow the residual heat from the pan to cook the other side. Remove the langoustines from the pan when they are golden and pink, then season with the lemon juice. Drain and keep hot.
To serve
Make 2 swipes of carrot purée across each plate at different angles followed by a line of the powdered spiced bread, then place 2 langoustines on each plate. Arrange the caramelised carrots and carrot leaves. Pipe little mounds of the buttermilk purée from the squeezy bottle. Finally, use a stick blender to froth the buttermilk sauce and spoon over the langoustines.
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