Chefs Recipe: Chilled langoustines, lemon mayonnaise

For Luke Matthews, Executive Head Chef at Chewton Glen, langoustines are the ultimate luxurious, decadent ingredient; their sweet flesh a true taste of the sea. And when you have an ingredient as good as this, the best approach is to do as little to it as possible, and serve it with a simple complementary accompaniment – here, a creamy lemon mayonnaise. Some may find the langoustine shells a tad fiddly, but follow Luke’s advice – get stuck in, get messy and enjoy.

RECIPE

Serves 4

½ onion

1 carrot

1 leek

2 celery sticks

1 bay leaf

24 langoustines (whole)

For the lemon mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

40g Dijon mustard

15ml white wine vinegar

750ml vegetable oil

¼ lemon, juiced

1 unwaxed lemon, zest only

Salt & pepper

2 lemons, to garnish

Roughly chop all the vegetables and place in a large pot of water with the bay leaf. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes.

Put in the langoustines and cook for approximately one minute – this will depend on their size. Remove from the liquid and plunge into iced water. Once cool, remove from the water and set aside in the refrigerator.

In a round-bottomed bowl, combine the egg yolks, mustard and vinegar with a whisk.

Slowly pour in the vegetable oil, whisking vigorously, then add the lemon juice and zest. Add a little warm water if it becomes too thick. Taste and season as required.

To garnish

Cut two lemons in half and remove any pips. Cut muslin cloth into four 12cm squares. Put the cut side of the lemon face down onto one of the squares and then gather around the overlap of muslin into bunch at the top. Tie with cotton to securely hold the bunch together then cut off any excess with scissors.

To serve

Place the whole langoustines in a bowl and serve with the mayonnaise and lemons in muslin.

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Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa, New Milton, Hampshire, BH25 6QS

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