Shellfish is delicious all year round, but there's something
about eating it in the summer that makes it that little bit more special
(although eating it in winter and pretending it's summer could also
work, if you've had enough of cold weather and short days!)
Here are three recipes from my favorite seafood as you like throughout the year.
Spaghetti with crab, tomato and basil:
For this recipe you'll need:
- 1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- 2 diced garlic cloves.
- Half a teaspoon of crushed chilli flakes.
- 250g of cherry tomatoes.
- 250g of thin spaghetti.
- 300g of fresh white crab meat.
- 200g of prawns.
- 1 handful of roughly chopped basil.
- Salt and pepper for seasoning.
Start boiling pasta to package directions.
Now you can start with the rest of the food by heating the extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. When
it's nice and hot, add the garlic and chilli in the pan for a few
minutes before adding the cherry tomatoes for another three. Add shrimp to cook for 3-4 minutes until nice and pink.
Remove pan from heat and add crabmeat to heat before finishing with a little seasoning. Mix the pasta with the sauce and finish with the chopped basil on top. Add some rustic garlic bread as a side.
Mussels in white wine sauce (for 2 meals or snacks 4):
For this recipe, you must:
- 2lb of clean mussels.
- Half a cup of white wine (dry).
- 2 knobs of butter.
- 0.25lb of finely diced shallots.
- One tablespoon of finely diced garlic.
- 1 or 2 teaspoons of flour.
- 0.25 cup of diced parsley.
First, you need to ensure that their molds are clean. Put the mussels in a colander before going under water and wipe any dirt running and pulling barbs that remain.
To begin cooking, pour half a cup of the
white wine into a pot and place on a high heat. Drop the mussels into
the pot and cover. Bring the wine to the boil and leave on a high heat
for 5-8 minutes, until all the mussels are open wide. At this point,
discard any mussels that won't open.
Take the mussels from the pan and place in a bowl while maintaining the wine is poured into a pot and set aside. This allows you to remove any leftover grain left in the pan.
Now you can add the two knob of butter in a saucepan and add the shallots. Once you become clear, add the garlic and a tablespoon or two of thick flour. Gradually add the wine was set aside and finish before adding diced parliament sauce.
Serve with small rustic bread with salted butter for dipping in the sauce. This dish would be great by itself as a main or a small appetizer for more servings.
Lobster Salad (Serves 4):
For this dish you'll need:
- 4 small/medium sized lobsters.
- 12 new potatoes.
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped.
- olive oil.
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander.
- 1 lemon, halved.
- mixed baby salad leaves.
- 100g butter.
- Seasoning.
If you are purchasing live lobster, you'll need to ask the fishmonger to kill the lobster humanely.
Place
the lobster in a boiling pot for 5 minutes along with some seasoning to
cook. Once the lobster has cooled enough to handle, twist off the head
and the claws. Crack open the claws and remove the pieces of meat
inside. To remove the tail meat, cut up the centre of the inside shell
with scissors before peeling back the rest of the shell and taking out
the meat.
Now you can boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked and lightly mash with a fork when done. Fry onions in olive oil for a couple of minutes before adding the potatoes, coriander and seasoning to the pan.
Add all the meat to the pan claw before squeezing in a little lemon juice. Separate into four parts before stacking in the center of four plates. Add beef and lobster tail on top with a little melted butter and black pepper at the end.
