Langoustine, Fennel, Elixir d’Anvers

Vilhjalmur Sigurdarson - Souvenir
INGREDIENTS
  • 8 large langoustines, unpeeled
  • 5 g fennel seeds
  • 3 shallots, finely chopped
  • 6 cl white wine
  • 250 cl water
  • 70 g butter
  • 250 g whipping cream
  • 12 baby fennel bulbs, stalks and leaves on
  • 1 untreated lemon
  • 4 cl Elixir d’Anvers
  • butter
  • coarse salt
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • white balsamic vinegar
  • sunflower oil
  • fine salt

PREPARATION

  1. Clean and peel the langoustines and chill. Crush the shells and flash fry them together with fennel seeds and sunflower oil over high heat. Add shallots, wine, water, butter, and cream, and simmer for 45 minutes.
  2. Put the fennel leaves to one side. Finely chop the stalks. Slice 2 fennel bulbs thinly and keep in ice water. Blanch the remaining fennel bulbs for 20-30 seconds in boiling water until firm to the bite.
  3. Remove the zest from the lemon and keep to one side. Juice the lemon.
  4. Pass the sauce through a sieve, refresh with lemon juice and Elixir d’Anvers. Don’t boil the sauce further.
  5. Sauté the fennel stalks over a medium heat with a knob of butter and the lemon zest. Season with coarse salt and a splash of Elixir d’Anvers.
  6. Marinate the blanched and raw fennel short in a mixture of olive oil, vinegar, and coarse salt.
  7. Fry the langoustines on their back in a hot pan, sprinkle with sunflower oil, and season with fine salt. Caramelise the langoustines very quickly without cooking through.
  8. Spoon some fennel stalks on a plate and top with 2 langoustines. Arrange some marinated fennel on top, and finish with fennel leaves and sauce.