55 Freshwater Crayfish Paupiettes with Thyme

Name: Freshwater Crayfish Paupiettes with Thyme
Yield: For four people
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: ¼ onion peeled and cut in tiny mirepoix dice; 1 shallot; 1 small bouquet garni; 1 unpeeled, crushed clove of garlic; 1 bass fillet weighing 500 g (1 lb 2 oz), skinned and boned by the fishmonger; 75 g (2½ oz) softened butter; 2 tablespoons olive oil; ½ carrot; 500 ml (scant pint) water and 2 teaspoons coarse salt; 24 fine green leaves from the outside of Brussels sprouts; 750 g (1 lb 10½ oz) live freshwater crayfish or about 20 Dublin Bay prawns; ½ teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped; 1 small sprig of thyme; 4 heaped tablespoons cooked tomato pulp; 1 teaspoon tomato purée; 2 deseeded tomatoes, cut in quarters; 200 ml (⅓ pint) dry white wine; 2 tablespoons port; 1½ tablespoons armagnac; a pinch of cayenne; salt and pepper

Preparation info

For
four
people

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Cuisine Gourmande

By Michel Guérard

Published 1978

About

Paupiettes d’écrevisses au thym et aux choux de Bruxelles ‘Little parcels of shellfish redolent of river and garden’

Ingredients

Main ingredients

750 g (1 lb 10½ oz) live freshwater crayfish or about 2

Europe
France
Fish course
Pescatarian
Gluten-free
Mediterranean

Method

Cooking the crayfish

Heat the oil in the sauté pan. Throw in the crayfish or Dublin Bay prawns and let them fry and colour, covered, for 6 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and remove the crayfish with a slotted spoon. Put them on a plate. Remove and shell the tails and keep them until needed.