Pre heat the oven at 100°C
Whisk 2 eggs plus 1 yolk, add 200ml cream or crème fraîche and whisk again.
Add 200 ml seafood stock, stir well and pour in 4 heatproof crème brûlée ramekins
Put the ramekins in an oven dish and pour enough boiling water in the dish to surround the ramekins.
Put in the oven for 1 hour.
Cool and keep in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Just before serving dust some big prawns with Piment d'Espelet and panfry them in olive oil
Sprinkle sugar on top of the crème in the ramekins and melt with a burner
About shellfish stock: when we eat shellfish I always keep the heads and shells in my freezer and once in a while use this recipe from Great British Chefs:
Heat a tablespoon of oil and butter in a large stock pot. Add as many seafood shells (and any juices that have leaked out of them) as you have and cook over a medium heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring to avoid sticking. The shells should be in one layer on the bottom of the pan to enable proper caramelisation, so work in batches if you need to. If you are using langoustines or prawns, use a rolling pin to crush the heads open. Once nicely coloured, transfer the shells to a bowl
Deglaze the pan to collect up all the delicious bits stuck to the bottom. Do this by turning the heat up high, then add about 50ml of brandy. Turn the heat back down and use a spatula to scrape the pan clean. Tip these juices into the bowl of shells
Add another tbsp of oil and, once hot, add 1 diced onion, 1 finely sliced leek, ½ finely sliced fennel, a finely sliced celery stick, a finely sliced small carrot and 6 smashed cloves of garlic (skin left on). Cook for about 10 minutes until caramelised, stirring to avoid any burning (which would impart a bitter flavour)
Add 2 tbsp tomato puree and cook out for 2 minutes
Add the shells back into the pot along with the delicious juices. Pour in 150 ml brandy (or dry sherry or white wine) and reduce by half
Top up with water to about 3cm above the shells. Bring to the boil and then skim off the scum which rises to the top using a ladle
Add 1 tsp lightly crushed coriander seeds, 2 bay leaves, 4 sprigs of thyme (and any other herbs you choose: tarragon, dill and or chervil) to use and simmer the stock uncovered for 2–3 hours. Make sure the stock stays at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil, and periodically skim off impurities floating on the surface
Once ready, place a colander over a large bowl and line with muslin or a thin, clean tea towel. Carefully pour the pan's contents into the colander. Use the back of a ladle to crush the shells, making sure you extract every last bit of stock
Return the stock to the pan and reduce further till 3/4 is left.
(Recipe Agnes van der Aar)
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