Ingredients
- 100 g butter
- 100 g flour
- 850 ml fish stock
- 800 ml crayfish reduction (see below)
- 60 ml Pernod
- 200 ml cream
- 40 ml dry white wine
- 8 black mussels, cleaned, de-bearded
- 12 green prawns, peeled, deveined, tails intact
- 8 scallops with roe
- 2 snapper fillets, cut into 2cm cubes
- 1 tbs coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
- Crayfish reduction
- 2 large crayfish, green
- 40 ml olive oil
- 60 ml brandy
- 125 ml dry white wine
- 50 g butter
- 2 small brown onions, roughly diced
- 1 small carrot, roughly diced
- 2 celery sticks, roughly diced
- 125 g tomato paste
- 1 x 400g can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1250 ml fish stock
- Cobs
- 40 g butter, butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 4 mini cob-style sourdough loaves
Preparation
Step 1
1. To make crayfish reduction, remove crayfish heads from tails and chop heads into smaller chunks. Remove flesh from tails and cut into small chunks. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge. Cut tail shells into chunks. Place heads and tail shells in a large pot and pound with a rolling pin until roughly chopped.
2. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add crayfish mixture and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 5-8 minutes to release flavour. Add brandy and wine, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced by half.
3. Heat butter in a stockpot over medium heat, then add vegetables and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add tomato paste and whole tomatoes (with juice from the can), then stir through. Add crayfish mixture and stock to stockpot and simmer for 30 minutes or until reduced to 800ml. Pass through a fine sieve into a large saucepan.
4. To make chowder base, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes. Gradually add fish stock, stirring continuously between additions, to avoid lumps.
5. Gradually add crayfish reduction, mixing thoroughly between additions. Gently bring to the boil, then add Pernod, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cream.
6. Meanwhile, heat wine in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add mussels, then cover and allow to steam until shells have opened. Discard any that do not open. Separate mussels from shells and set aside.
7. To make cobs, preheat oven to 180C. Mix butter and garlic together. Slice tops off cobs to form a lid, then use a spoon to hollow out cob, being careful not to tear through crust. Brush inside of loaves and lid with garlic butter, then bake cobs and lids for 6-8 minutes or until lightly toasted and crisp.
8. Chop 8 of the prawns in half and remove tails. Add halved prawns to simmering chowder along with whole prawns, reserved crayfish, snapper and scallops and cook for 2 minutes or until all the seafood is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir through cooked mussels, then season with salt and pepper.
9. Ladle chowder into each cob loaf, dividing seafood equally. Place 1 whole prawn and mussel in its shell on top. Garnish with parsley and serve with lid on the side.