Episode 105: Shellfish

Potted Shrimp
Crab Flan
Shellfish Grape Seed Oil
Scampi Ravioli with Dried Tomatoes and Leeks
 Shellfish Compound Butter
Matane Shrimp Chowder

POTTED SHRIMP
Preparation is easy

85 grams butter (3 ounces)
225 grams shelled small shrimps, cooked (8 ounces)
1 large blade of mace
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
125 grams clarified butter (4 ounces)
8 slices thin brown toast
Lemon wedges

Preparation time is 20 minutes, 2 hours to set

Melt the butter over a low heat in a small pan. If the shrimps look too large for the ramekins, chops them into pieces. Add the shrimps, mace and cayenne pepper to the butter and continue to heat the mixture but do not let it boil. When very hot, remove the mace from the mixture and divide the shrimps between four ramekins or pour them into one large bowl.

Set aside to cool. Then cover the top of each ramekin with clarified butter to seal it, pouring over a thick layer. Keep in the fridge before eating.

Serve with brown toast and lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 servings
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CRAB FLAN
Preparation is easy

2 eggs
450 grams of king or queen crab leg meat (1 pound)
200 millilitres 2% milk (7 fluid ounces)
200 ml 35% cream (7 fluid ounces)
50 millilitres chopped chervil (3 tablespoons)
10 millilitres unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
Kosher salt and black pepper

Preparation time is 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit

Butter the moulds and set them aside. Put all but 6 pieces of the crab in a food processor, add the cream, the milk and the eggs. Mix until it comes together and is smooth. Add salt and pepper. Mix well.

Put one piece of crab in the bottom of each mould. Cover with the flan mixture. Cover with chopped chervil. Put the moulds in a baking dish and fill it to 2/3 full with hot water. Bake the flans in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Garnish the flan with scampi oil or a beurre blanc.

Yield: 6 servings.
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SHELLFISH GRAPE SEED OIL
Preparation is easy

1 Litre of grape seed oil (4 cups)
450 grams of shellfish carcasses (shrimps, lobster, scampi) (2 pounds)
1 clove of garlic, oven roasted
White pepper, salt

Preparation time is 15 minutes

Cut the garlic clove in half and put it, with and the shellfish carcasses in a small pot. Put it in the oven and cook until the shells are nice golden colour and sweet perfumes are distinct. Take the saucepan from the oven and put the garlic and shells in a small blender and gradually add the grape seed oil so it emulsifies. Add the pepper and the salt then pass through a fine sieve. Store it in a bottle and in the refrigerator.

Use for cooking, garnish on fish or even in salad dressing.

Yield: 1 litre of shellfish oil.
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SCAMPI RAVIOLI WITH DRIED TOMATOES AND LEEKS
Preparation is easy

FOR THE STUFFING
4 scampi tails, cooked, shelled and cleaned
250 millilitres of julienne leeks (8 ounces)
75 grams of oven dried or sun dried tomatoes (2 ½ ounces)
10 millilitres of olive oil (1 tablespoon)
10 millilitres of finely chopped onions (1 tablespoon)
10 millilitres of finely chopped garlic (1 tablespoon)
10 millilitres of chopped basil (1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper

FOR THE PASTA DOUGH
250 grams of flour (8 ounces)
2 grams of fine salt (large pinch)
20 millilitres of olive oil (2 tablespoons)
1 litre of boiling water (4 cups)

For the stuffing:
Put the olive oil in a medium size hot pan, sweat the leeks, the garlic and the onions, over a medium high heat and do not allow them to colour. They should become translucent. Remove the vegetables from the heat and set them aside. In a large stainless steel bowl, mix the chopped dried tomatoes, the leeks, the onions, the garlic and the basil. Mix well. Season. Set aside.

For the dough:
Put the flour and the salt in a food processor. Whiz, slowly adding the olive oil. The dough will be slightly sticky. Form a ball, cover with a damp rag and refrigerate and let rest for a couple of hours.

To make the ravioli, roll out the dough on a floured surface until very thin. Cut it into 8-centimtre wide strips. Divide the filling into four and create four large ravioli. Top each pile of filling with a scampi tail. Brush around the edges of the cough with egg wash to help the dough stick. Cover with another strip of dough. Press down to seal between each mound of stuffing. Set the ravioli aside to rest.

Drop the ravioli into a large pan of salted boiling water. Cook until they rise to the surface, or about 6 minutes. Put the ravioli on a large plate and serve with grilled zucchini and a drizzle of shellfish oil.

Yield: 4 servings.
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SHELLFISH COMPOUND BUTTER
Preparation is easy

2 cloves of oven roasted garlic
250 millilitres of shellfish stock reduced to 50 millilitres (1 cup reduced to ¼ cup)
125 millilitres of finely chopped shellfish (shrimps, scampi, prawn) (4 ounces)
250 grams unsalted butter (8 ounces)
50 grams organic parsley, cleaned and stemmed, chopped (3 tablespoons)
Pepper and salt

Preparation time is 15 minutes
Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit

Cut the garlic clove in half and put it in a small ovenproof pan. Put it in the oven and cook until nice and golden and it is beginning to smell sweet. Reduce the shellfish stock in a separate pan over a medium heat.

Once the stock is cool, soften the butter with your hands. Squeeze in the roasted garlic and mix is together using a wooden spatula. Add the chopped shellfish, the reduced stock, parsley and season. Roll the butter into a cigar shape and wrap it in plastic wrap. It keeps in the refrigerator or freezer.

Use for cooking, garnish on vegetables or even on toast for canapés.

Yield: 375 grams of butter.
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MATANE SHRIMP CHOWDER
Preparation is easy

125 grams Vidalia onions, diced (4 ounces)
125 grams of leeks, finely chopped (4 ounces)
125 grams carrots, (4 ounces)
125 grams celery root, diced (4 ounces)
125 grams of corn kernels (4 ounces)
250 grams of Matane shrimps or baby shrimps (8 ounces)
30 millilitres butter for sweating (2 tablespoons)
3 litres of shellfish stock (12 cups)
250 millilitres of 35% cream (1 cup)
1 Bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme
Pepper and sea salt (grey salt)
Chopped herbs, such as chives, parsley, coriander and chervil

Preparation time is 45 minutes

Sweat the onions, the leaks, the carrots and the celery in a large pot over a medium-low heat in a slick of olive oil. The vegetables should not brown, just soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the shellfish stock, the thyme and the Bay leaf. Simmer for about 5 minutes over a low heat. Add the corn kernels and the cream; simmer for a further 5 minutes. Add the Matane shrimps and take the saucepan off the heat. Season to taste and serve.

Pour the chowder into a large bowl or take a large round country loaf and cut off the top before scooping out the soft dough from the middle. Use the bread as a bowl and pour the chowder in. Sprinkle with the chopped herb mix and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.
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Recipe courtesy of Chef Georges Laurier, Executive Chef & owner of Laurier Sur Montcalm in Hull, Quebec.