I was in China Town yesterday and I saw some langoustines which were a pretty good deal - £8.49 per kilo.
I love langoustines, although the arguably are not great value for money. Most of them seems to get thrown away; hence extracting every bit of flavour from the shells.
This sauce starts out like you are making a bisque. In fact, it probably is just a highly reduced bisque.
In the past, I would have used LOADS of butter and double cream. This is an effort to be a bit healthier and more calorie conscious. I don't know; langoustine are a bit of a "treat" so maybe I should have gone the whole hog! The sauce was pretty rich as it was.
Langoustine Linguine
250g whole, raw langoustine (about 7)
1 carrot
1 rib celery
1 shallot
1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon pepper corns
small bunch parsley
few sprig chervil
1 teaspoon tomato puree
1 large glass (250ml) white wine
1 small glass (50ml) brandy
salt & pepper to taste
30 ml single cream
10g butter
15g plain flour
75g linguine
Peel the langoustine tails. Place the langoustine shells (heads, legs, thorax shells) on a baking tray and place in a low oven (Gas Mark 2) for about 45 minutes until they are dried and fragrant.
Place the legs in a mortar & pestle and crush lightly. Add the toasted shells (including legs) to a large sauce pan. Add the chopped carrot, celery and shallot, 1/2 lemon, a few pepper corns, and parsley & chervil. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes.
Strain the stock and discard the shells and vegetables. Add the tomato paste (more for colour than any thing else), wine & brandy and return to the heat.
Cook over low heat until it is much reduced; probably and 1/8th or less of its original volume. You will need about 4 fluid ounces of concentrated stock.
Taste the stock and add salt & pepper (if necessary). I sometimes add a tiny bit of sugar - 1/2 teaspoonful.
Make a roux of the butter and flour. Allow to cook to a light fawn colour and then add the stock and stir to make a thickened sauce. Add the cream and continue to stir - the sauce should be thick and glossy.
Meanwhile, cook the linguine according to package instructions. Add the cooked linguine to the sauce and keep warm while you cook the langoustines.
Spray a non-stick fry pan with a little olive oil. Bring to high heat and add the seasoned langoustine. Cook briefly, until they just begin to curl. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Turn the linguine out onto a serving plate. Garnish with the cooked langoustine and a few sprigs of fresh parsley.
Langoustine (French name) are variously known as Scampi (Italian name, used in the US and in the UK), Norway Lobster or Dublin Bay Prawns. The scientific name Nephrops norvegicus
Sweet and delicious, by any name.
Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 427.6
Carbohydrate (g) 45.8
Protein (g) 26.3
Fat (g) 15.1
Fibre (g) 2.5
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