Brian`s Latest Recipe

Since the very beginning of my catering career – which is now going back longer than I care to remember!!, my favourite food to cook is fish, especially shellfish, as you can do so much with it.  This crevette (prawns or langoustines ) dish is a very quick and tasty dish to do if you are caught on the hop with last minute visitors, or late home from work!! – ( which I am frequently, you only have to ask my wife!!)

20 Crevettes                                                      200g fettucine pasta
150g unsalted butter                                        20g garlic
50g parsley                                                        50g shallots
2 plum tomatoes

Serves 4
Cooking time – approx 30 minutes

Method

Put a pot of boiling water(put in a little oil and salt) on for cooking the pasta, once at boiling point, add the pasta stirring continually so the pasta doesn’t stick together, and then cook for a further 5-6 minutes, run some cold water into the pan to refresh and then drain with a sieve, this way the past does not stick.

When you are peeling the prawns / crevettes, take off the head first and then peel the tail off, and when that is done you are ready for frying the prawns / crevettes.

To make the garlic butter, take the butter and leave out at room temperature until soft, then peel and chop the garlic very finely, pick and then wash and chop the parsley very fine and then do the same for the shallots.  When you are mixing in the butter add the shallots and garlic, mixing it well, then add the parsley making sure everything is mixed together thoroughly.

For the tomatoes, blanch them in boiling salted water for 10 seconds, cool down quickly by running them through cold water, peel the skin and quarter them. Take the seeds out of the tomatoes and then dice all four bits.

Pre-heat a large fry pan with a little olive oil, add the crevettes keep them moving around the pan whilst cooking gently, when nearly cooked add the fettucine pasta, turn down the heat and add the garlic butter, melt slowly folding the butter through the prawns and fettucine, when everything is hot add the tomato last minute, then put into a small bowl evenly placing some butter around and over the dish.

Breakout 1

If you can’t be bothered with the peeling of the crevettes, try another shellfish, for example scallops (gently fry for 1 minute on each side) or mussels, (steam them in a hot pan with white wine – for a couple of minutes and then take them out the shell)

Breakout 2

And if you are not a big shellfish fan, try the same recipe using chicken -  get 4 chicken fillets, season, cut into strips and fry until golden brown. Or you can cook the chicken fillet whole and serve on top, either way its another tasty alternative.

Tip of the week

When buying your crevettes its very important to buy fresh shellfish, rather than buying frozen shellfish. All major supermarkets have fresh fish counters, but if you have a local fishmonger support him – he’s up early every morning!! Another tip is try not to over cook your shellfish as it can go rubber-like.