Shellfish

Our shellfish is nearly all caught locally. We have good supplies of lobster, crab, scallops, mussels and, more rarely now, prawns. We are lucky that the time lapse between sea and kitchen is so short – we get these shellfish at their very best, before their meat has time to lose any of its sweet, satisfying taste and texture.

It seems a shame to mask the delights of good shellfish with over-elaborate fiddling and fussing, so we tend to cook much of it very simply. When we get raw transparent prawns, we cook them briefly in boiling salted water, and serve them with nothing more than aïoli or a plain mayonnaise. There are few sights more pleasing than a plate piled high with rosy pink prawns. They seem to be so rare now, that I want to really be able to appreciate that exceptional firmness and sweetness – something you never get in ready-cooked prawns that have lingered too long on their journey to the table. Mind you, on the rare occasions when we are blessed with a surprisingly generous supply we may well splash out and cook them with a little cream and brandy.