It had been on my wishlist for a while to prepare langoustines. You often see them in restaurants and I love them. It is related to the lobster, according to some even tastier and more delicate. In this recipe, the emphasis is on the pure taste of the seafood. It's also quick to make and quite simple so have fun! A nice starter or intermediate dish with which you will certainly score points.

Cleaning the langoustines is quite a job, so try to look for larger versions. I had very small (16/20), which is just a little more work. How do you clean them? Click!
You can usually buy scallops clean, it's that easy.

Een delicaat en chique (voor)gerecht. Er zijn Nederlanders waar langoustines niet elke dag op het menu staan. Qua wijn-spijs de ultieme combinatie met een volle Bourgogne Chardonnay, hoewel de coquille en bloemkool toch een iets genuanceerdere wijn vraagt.

De oplossing ligt in de Meursault Premier Cru “Les Ravelles” van Chapelle de Blagny. Ook geen alledaagse wijn maar doordat dit van het hoogstgelegen stukje Meursault komt is de wijn niet zo vol en romig als de soortgenoten uit de lager gelegen (warmere) delen van Meursault.

Dat combineert dan weer goed met de wat aardse smaken van bloemkool en de iets minder uitgesproken coquille, zonder weg te vallen tegen de langoustine.

Langoustines, coquille en bloemkoolcrème — Pin
Print

Langoustines, scallop and cauliflower cream

4.0 from 23 votes

Course: appetizerDifficulty: Simple

Portions

persons

Preparation time (indication)

minutes

Tools:
– Stick blender or blender
– Kitchen tweezers for cleaning the langoustines
– Pipette (click) for the balsamic, can also be done with a small spoon

Ingredients

cauliflower cream
6 small langoustines (or 4 larger ones), cleaned
2 scallops
Mixed mushrooms (I took some out of the risotto mix from AH)
Good balsamic (I used 12 year old)
Fresh basil

Preparation

cauliflower cream
Cook the cauliflower florets in the cooking cream and milk gently until the cauliflower is soft; about 10 minutes. They need to be submerged so you may need a little more or less cream and milk.
Remove the florets from the pan with a slotted spoon and puree until smooth in a blender or with an immersion blender. Add some of the milk/cream mixture as needed, one tablespoon at a time. It should have a nice smooth texture, softer than a puree. Zoom in on the photos; that gives you an idea.
Season with a very(!) small pinch of garlic powder, white pepper and salt. I use white pepper so that the cream stays nice and white.
Press the cream through a sieve and set aside.
Heat just before preparing.
mushrooms
Choose from the mix a large mushroom and a few small ones (beech mushroom for example).
Cut the large mushroom in half lengthwise and score crosswise.
Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms in it; the little ones only need a little while. Bake the large on the scored side until they are a nice golden brown, a few minutes.
Set aside until ready to use, then reheat if necessary.
Langoustines and scallops
Heat a dash of olive oil in the pan and place the scallops and langoustines in it. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over it.
The intention is that they are lukewarm and glassy on the inside; so they only need a short time. A golden brown crust is what we're looking for and you need about a minute per side for that. Sometimes a little longer, you'll see that soon enough. First fry the langoustines on their 'back'.
Remove the langoustines and scallops from the pan and start preparing.
layout
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of cauliflower cream in the middle of the plate, keep the spoon on the plate and draw a 'line' down (look again at the photo for an image).
Place half the scallop on the right side and half the large mushroom on the other side.
Divide the langoustines over the cream and then the small mushrooms randomly around this.
Pick a few beautiful basil leaves and place them playfully in between.
The finishing touch: balsamic vinegar. Draw a dot to the left of the dish and draw a line down.
That went well, huh? Don't forget to look at the faces of your guests when serving.