For many, buying a blowtorch to use in a domestic kitchen might seem like a gimmicky item to show off, or something destined to gather dust in the back of a shelf after many months of no use. I certainly don’t drag it out for most things that I cook, especially not quick, simple midweek meals. Yet I find it so genuinely useful in many circumstances, able to create a different element of flavour that is difficult to achieve with any other appliance. For a long time I have found myself semi-obsessed with charred or borderline burnt food; not great when totally dominating dishes, but a tiny bit of bitter smokiness can really make a decent dish special. From toasting delicate tips of an Italian meringue to blackening sweetcorn and charring winter leaves, there are endless uses. Some recipes call for a hot grill, but the control of vicious heat that you get from a blowtorch is far superior.
It is undoubtedly still a faff though. Especially in this case, where my recipe calls for you to melt 300g of butter purely for the poaching of a few langoustine tails. Then to drag them out and blowtorch them seems like a lot of work. But I totally guarantee that it is worth it. Wild local langoustines are bloody expensive, and as such should be treated with delicate respect to maximise their beautiful sweet flavour. Although I have previously grilled and traditionally poached langoustines with enjoyable results, the gentle poaching in butter yields the ultimate soft texture. With the speedy exposure to a high flame afterwards, the tails take on a wonderful subtle caramelisation, without further internal cooking.
To accompany the langoustines I only required a few subtle sidekicks. As is often the way, ingredients that share the same seasons also sit happily on the same plate. Autumn is all about wild mushrooms for me, and I was lucky enough to find girolles, trompettes and fresh porcini mushrooms in my brilliant local fruit and veg shop in Stoke Newington. They also had a pile of beautiful Italian violet artichokes, and I couldn’t resist popping a couple into my basket.
Although a lot of butter is used to cook the langoustines, save the leftovers for frying potatoes, or to melt through pasta with plenty of sage and garlic…
Serves 2
Ingredients:
For the langoustines:
6 large live langoustines, killed humanely and tails shelled. Heads and claws reserved.
300g salted butter
For the artichokes:
6 small violet artichokes, peeled, trimmed and halved
The heads and claws from the langoustines
1 smoked garlic clove, crushed
1 shallot, quartered
1 bay leaf
1 large glass of white wine
1 knob of butter
For the wild mushrooms:
1 handful of small girolle mushrooms, trimmed and cleaned
1 handful of trompette mushrooms, cleaned
1 or 2 fresh porcini mushrooms, cleaned
For the smoked garlic mayonnaise:
1 clove of smoked garlic
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 lemon, juice and zest
250ml light olive oil
To finish:
½ a lemon, juice only
Bring a large saucepan or high-sided frying pan to a medium heat. Pour in a generous glug of olive oil and add the claws and heads from the langoustines. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until lightly caramelised on all sides. Add the trimmed artichokes, shallot, garlic and bay leaf and continue to cook for a further couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and bring to the boil, then cover the pan and reduce the heat. Gently simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. Add the knob of butter and adjust the seasoning if needed.
To make the mayonnaise, grate the smoked garlic into a small food processor and add the mustard, lemon zest and juice, egg yolks and a good pinch of seasoning. Blend well to combine. With the engine still running, slowly pour in the oil, until fully emulsified into a mayonnaise. Thin down with a little water if necessary, and taste and add more seasoning. Spoon into a plastic bottle.
Heat a pan to a high heat and add a good glug of oil. When hot, sauté the girolle and trompette mushrooms for a couple of minutes, until tender and caramelised. Keep warm.
Halve the fresh raw porcini mushrooms and slice thinly.
Melt the butter for the langoustines in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and carefully drop in the langoustine tails. Poach gently for 3 minutes, then transfer onto a metal tray. Use a blowtorch to quickly caramelise the outsides.
To plate up, dot the mayonnaise onto each plate and arrange the langoustines and artichokes around. Top with the cooked wild mushrooms and raw porcini slices, and finish with a little of the buttery artichoke cooking liquid.
Blimey, what a few weeks! I’ve been away getting married in Scotland, followed by a short honeymoon on the Islands of the West Coast (more on this next week), so things have been a little slow on the blog of late. But I’ve got a massive backlog of brilliant recipes coming up in the next few posts, and I’m happy to finally have the time to get things back in order.
As we’re still clinging desperately onto the dregs of asparagus season I thought that this recipe would be best to get going with. Yet again the season has passed by in a flash, and yet again I haven’t taken advantage of the wonderful produce nearly as much as planned. I’m already looking forward to next May when I can grill more of those lovely green spears before covering in lemon juice and good olive oil… Only 11 months to go! That said, it’s never much of a disappointment when asparagus season is over, as we’re now thrown into heady gluts of peas, broad beans and courgettes, and even more recipe ideas.
As usual I’ve got sidetracked, but for this recipe I decided to use white asparagus. The meatier texture and slightly subtler taste combined well with the mushrooms, and the strong porcini flavour running through the dish. Instead of the usual grilling and charring, I decided to cook them in a little water and a fair amount of butter. This way they almost poach and steam at the same time, absorbing the butter but losing very little flavour at the same time.
This recipe came by chance whilst I was out shopping for a different recipe. That week I had had a real craving for a rich, meaty ragu, buttery and heavy with parmesan (this is before the heatwave!). I fancied pot-roasting some pigeons until the meat fell off the bones, before stirring it through some tender homemade pappardelle or orecchiette. I went to the shops hell bent on serving it up for dinner, but I couldn’t for the life of me find any pigeons! With such preconceptions on my mind I was stuck, and had no idea what to cook instead. At the fourth or fifth butcher I spotted some lovely plump Norfolk quails, and along with a nice selection of mushrooms I came up with the idea for this dish. Happily it was damn satisfying, but I still vow to rectify my pigeon woes…
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 quails, portioned into crowns. Wishbones removed and legs and trimmings saved for sauce
3 large knobs of butter
6 sprigs of thyme
For the asparagus:
4 white asparagus spears, trimmed and peeled
1 knob of butter
A squeeze of lemon juice
For the mushroom ketchup:
350g chestnut mushrooms, very finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, grated
2 shallots, finely chopped
5 sprigs of thyme
3 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
For the sauce:
The trimmings from the quail
2 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
The trimmings from the mushrooms
3 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
6 sprigs of thyme
A large glass of white wine
500ml good chicken stock
1 knob of butter
For the wild mushrooms:
2 handfuls of wild mushrooms, I used fresh porcini, girolles and morels. Cleaned and trimmed
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
3 sprigs of thyme
1 knob of butter
A squeeze of lemon juice
For the broad beans:
2 handfuls of broad beans, podded and shelled
½ a lemon, juice only
For the pancetta:
4 rashers of smoked pancetta
Start by making the mushroom ketchup. Put the dried porcini into a small bowl and cover with a bit of boiling water. Allow to soak for 15-20 minutes, then chop finely, reserving the soaking liquid. Set a large frying pan on a medium heat and add a good glug of olive oil. When hot, fry the shallots, garlic and thyme until softened. Add the finely chopped chestnut and porcini mushrooms and continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is very soft. Stir in the sugar and the vinegar and taste, adding more seasoning, sugar or vinegar to get the balance just right. Tip the contents of the pan into a food processor and blitz well, then pass through a fine sieve into a bowl. Spoon into a squeezy bottle and set aside.
Next make the sauce. Heat a large, high sided frying pan to a medium-high temperature and add a generous drizzle of olive oil. Season the quail trimmings well, then brown on all sides in the hot pan. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme and any mushroom trimmings to the pan and lightly caramelise, then pour in the wine. Reduce the liquid by half, then top up with the stock. Throw in the dried porcini mushrooms at this point. Bring to a boil and reduce to a thickened sauce, about 20-30 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a small saucepan and stir in the butter until emulsified. Set aside.
Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and quickly blanche the broad beans for a minute. Shock straight away in ice cold water, then carefully squeeze the tender beans out of their shells. Squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle on some salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat up the grill to medium-high. Arrange the smoked pancetta on a lined oven tray, then grill for a few minutes on each side until the rashers are crisp. Drain well on kitchen paper, then break into pieces.
Heat the oven to 190⁰C.
To cook the quail crowns, set a heavy frying pan on a high heat. Add a glug of olive oil, then sear the birds for 1-2 minutes on each breast. Turn the quail so they are sitting upright, then add a knob of butter to the pan and baste all over until golden brown. Transfer to an oven dish, then roast in the oven for 8 minutes, rubbing with more butter half way through. Let the cooked birds rest for 10 minutes before carving the breasts.
While the quails are resting cook the asparagus. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add seasoning and a good splash of water. Add the asparagus and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning frequently. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and add the shelled broad beans to warm through.
Heat a large frying pan for the mushrooms and melt the butter. Add the thick porcini mushrooms first along with the garlic and thyme and cook for a couple of minutes. Tip in the girolle and morel mushrooms and toss everything together, then continue to fry until everything is just cooked and tender. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Reheat the sauce.
To plate up, arrange two pieces of asparagus on each plate and position the quail breasts to each side. Squeeze on a good dollop of the mushroom ketchup. Scatter over the mushrooms, broad beans and crispy pancetta. Finish with a good few spoonfuls of sauce.
