( recipe )
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INGREDIENTS For the prawn oil:
600g raw prawns (shells on)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
small bunch of thyme 2 star anise 1 shallot
½ tsp coriander seeds 1 bay leaf 500ml vegetable oil
For the pickled samphire:
200ml water 100g sugar
200ml white wine vinegar 1 bay leaf 100g samphire
kay, so the poor old prawn cocktail has a bit of a bad rep nowadays – think miniscule once-frozen prawns, overly sweet Marie Rose sauce and Iceberg lettuce with, if you’re particularly unlucky, browning edges. Oh, and zero imagination. Butwait! The basic principles of the dish are sound enough, surely –what’s not to
love about fresh, juicy shellfish, creamy mayonnaise, and crisp, refreshing salad leaves? Head chef Julien Atrous at the Seagrave Arms certainly thinks so, and has given the old soldier a new lease of life by merging it withall the best elements of a traditional Caesar salad. “The dish takes a few days to prepare – which gives time for the prawn oil to infuse and
the samphire to pickle – but it’s worth it,” says Julien, who joined the Seagrave Arms after previouslyworking in Gee’s Restaurant and Bar in Oxford, and atCalcot Manor. This Chipping Campden restaurant-with-rooms reopened in 2010 after a complete renovation by current owners Kevin Davies and wife Susan; it’s well worth a visit.
✱ SEAGRAVE ARMS, Friday Street, Weston Subedge, Chipping Campden GL55 6QH; 01386 840192;
www.seagravearms.co.uk
PRAWN CAESAR SALAD (SERVES 4-6)
METHOD
For the fennel seed and Parmesan bread:
75g white bread flour
175g wholemeal bread flour 20g fresh yeast 7.5g salt 10g sugar 125g water 1 tsp fennel seed
200g grated Parmesan
For the crispy anchovies: small tin anchovies breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, for frying
2 egg yolks 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
squeeze of lemon juice
4 slices of Parma ham
8 Baby Gem lettuces
crumbsmag.com 23
– Start by making the prawn oil. Peel the prawns and put the shells in a roasting tray in a very low oven for 4 hours. Add the rest of the ingredients and roast for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to infuse for at least 1 day. – Pickle the samphire by first bringing the water, sugar, vinegar and bay leaf to the boil. Now pour over the samphire and refrigerate for at least 1 day. – On the day you wish to serve the salad, make the bread. Mix all the ingredients together in a free-standing machine with a dough hook for 10 minutes. Leave to prove for 1 hour. Shape the bread into a round and place on a baking tray and prove for another hour. – Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and bake the bread for 30 minutes. Leave to cool, then slice it thinly and return to the oven to allow the slices to dry out slightly. Turn the oven down to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. – Coat the anchovies with the breadcrumbs, then deep fry in the vegetable oil until golden and crisp. – Take a tablespoon or so of the prawn oil and drizzle over the raw, shelled prawns, then place them in a hot griddle pan. Cook for 60-90 seconds on each side until they are cooked through. – Make a mayonnaise with the remaining prawn oil by slowly whisking the infused prawn oil into the egg yolks and mustard until the mix is emulsified. Season with the lemon juice. The mayonnaise should have a slightly runny consistency, similar to that of salad cream. – Create the Parma ham crisps by placing the ham between two sheets of greaseproof paper, then between two baking sheets/trays. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. – Arrange the Baby Gem leaves on the plate, add the cooked prawns, sliced bread croutons, Parma ham crisps, pickled samphire and a drizzle of the prawn mayonnaise.
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