Salad of Crayfish, Mussels, Prawns, Scallops and Pipis with Lemon and Avocado
Ingredients
1 medium-sized fresh crayfish (800g), preferably live
olive oil for frying
300g green prawns, shelled with tails attached
300g fresh scallops
1kg small live mussels, in the shell, scrubbed if necessary
500g live pipis or tuatuas, in the shell
2 firm but ripe avocados
2 juicy lemons
1 bunch watercress, stalks removed
2 baby cos lettuces
½ cup fresh flat-leafed parsley to garnish
Lemon Vinaigrette
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Description
I created this recipe for a Christmas feature in Cuisine. It has all the hallmarks of a special dish, for it uses a selection of luxurious shellfish, and looks very showy on a large platter. I planned it so that all the seafood can be prepared and cooked the night before Christmas – but be sure to keep all shellfish refrigerated. Just before serving, toss together with the lemon segments, avocado and vinaigrette, and serve with slices of fresh crusty ciabatta to mop up every last drop of juice.
Method
Place the crayfish in a large saucepan of salted cold water and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer for 10minutes or until the meat turns opaque, then refresh immediately in ice-cold water. Pull the tail from the body by twisting it, remove the meat from the shell and cut into neat chunks. Put the meat aside. (Keep the head and shell for another use such as crayfish bisque. Freeze until ready to use.)
Heat a little olive oil in a heavy pan and gently fry the prawns until they turn opaque. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Wipe out the pan, add more olive oil, and quickly sear the scallops over high heat so that the meat just sets. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Heat about 1 cup of water in a deep saucepan and add the mussels. Simmer until the shells open. Reserve the juices in a bowl, remove the mussels from their shells and immediately place back in their juices so that they remain plump and juicy. Discard the shells.
Repeat this process with the pipis or tuatuas, keeping them moist and plump in their juices too. Discard the shells.
When ready to assemble the salad, peel the avocados and cut into neat chunks. Peel the lemons with a knife to remove all the pith, and cut into neat segments, removing all the membranes and pips.
Arrange the washed and dried watercress and baby cos lettuce on the platter. Then very gently toss the prawns, scallops, drained mussels and drained pipis together with the crayfish. Place on the platter and scatter the avocado and lemon segments over the top.
Combine all the ingredients well for the vinaigrette, pour over the salad and then garnish with flat-leafed parsley.
Categories
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