Scallops al nage, vongole, fennel and celery oil

Put 500g vongole in lots of cold salted water for a few hours, then rinse them under the tap and bring to the boil with 50 ml Noilly Prat vermouth, pepper, a few sprigs of thyme and a laurel leaf in a lidded pand. Drain as soon as they are all open (about 4-5 mins) but keep the cooking liquids to make a sauce.

Put 15g celery leaves in boiling water for a few minutes to soften. Rinse under cold water and squeeze till dry.

Put in the blender with 40 ml sunflower oil, season with salt and pepper and blend well. Press through a sieve to get the green oil, discard the pulp

Peel 1/2 celery stick, 1/2 shallot, 1/2 clove of garlic and 1/4 fennel bulb, then cut them in very small cubes. Season with salt and pepper and sweat them softly  in a tbsp butter and a glug of Noilly Prat

Get the vongole from their shells

Bring their cooking liquid to the boil with 50 ml double cream and reduce till you have a nice thick sauce

Cut a very thin slice of fennel into strips and marinate in a glug of tarragon vinegar, salt and pepper

Panfry 6 scallops in and oiled pan on high temperature, turn around and add a tbsp butter.

Also add some butter and a few drops of lemon juice to the sauce and whisk briefly with the stick blender 

Plate as shown, starting with the cubed veggies, then the sauce, the scallops and the vongole

Finish with the green oil. And the marinated fennel, which I forgot :)

(Here Jeroen Meus' original recipe and a video in Flemish)

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Vegetarian oyster

Mix the flesh of 1/2 avocado with 1 tsp Greek yoghurt, 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper

Crush 1 prawn cracker and mix with equal parts black sesame seeds and pulverised niro

Dip oyster leaves a second in boiling water.

Serve a shown. The avocado crème imitates the structure of oyster, the oyster leaf really tastes like oyster.

(Here Tim Cornille's original recipe in Flemish)

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Maryland Crab Cakes

“This is the best crab cake recipe I’ve ever tried! Absolutely delicious and loaded with all crab, hardly any fillers.”

To start, whisk together 1 egg, 1,25 tbsp mayonnaise, 3/4 tsp Dyon mustard, 3/4 tsp Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp Old Bay (a mix of celery salt, hot paprika, smoked paprika, cinnamon and nutmeg), 1/8 tsp salt, 30g celery in very small cubes and 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley in a large bowl until well combined.

Then add 225g crab meat (double-checking for any bits of shell or cartilage) and the panko. Gently fold the mixture together until just combined. Be careful not to break up the delicate crab meat too much—the lumps are the best part!

Form the mixture into 4 cakes. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to help them firm up. Don’t skip this step—it makes a big difference in helping the crab cakes hold their shape when cooking.

Make the tartar sauce. In a small bowl, mix together 120g mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp mustard, 3/4 tbsp finely hacked gurkin, 1/2 tbsp minced red onion, 3/4 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until smooth, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add a thin layer of oil. Once hot, add the crab cakes and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on the first side, until golden brown.

Carefully flip the crab cakes and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until both sides are golden and the centers are hot. Watch out for oil splatter!

Serve the crab cakes on 2 plates, with a bimi and the tartar sauce on the side. Enjoy!

(Here Jennifer Segal's original recipe)

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Lobster tail, celeriac beurre blanc

Hack 50g celeriac, 1/2 shallot and 1/2 fennel bulb and quarter a bulb of garlic. Panfry the veggies in some soy oil, with 3 sprigs of thyme

After 3 mins deglaze with 1 dl Noilly Prat vermouth and reduce.

Add 1 dl fish stock and 1 dl cream and boil softly for 15 mins.

Crush some black pepper corns with your knife and add to the beurre blanc

Strain the beurre blanc in a sieve 

Preheat the oven to 195°C

Butterfly the lobsters. Using kitchen shears cut down the center of top of 2 defrosted lobster tails down to the base. Next grab each side of the shell and gently pry the shell away from the meat- leaving the meat at the base of the tail attached.  Lay the meat back in the shell, season with salt and pepper 

Sweat 1 minced clove of garlic in 25g butter, add1 tsp thyme leaves and 1/2 tbsp hacked parsley and a knifepoint smoked paprika.

Place the tails in an oven safe pan and brush the top of each tail with herb butter

Put in the hot oven, 7 mins per 100g

Serve with the beurre blanc. I added some left over shrimps

(Here the original recipe by Bo in Dutch 

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Fish Fest

Quarter 400g small red-skinned potatoes, boil them in chicken stock 

Make an aioli from 4 tbsp mayonaise, 1 tbsp orange juice, 1 minced clove of garlic and a pinch of salt

Cut 2/3 fennel in small cubes.

Sweat 1 minced shallot in 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 mins. Add the fennel cubes and 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds and fry another 5 mins.

Deglaze with 60 ml Noilly Prat and let the alcohol evaporate 

Add 200 ml chicken stock and boil 5 mins, cool a bit, add 2 tbsp aioli, blend into a smooth sauce and keep warm

Cut the other 1/3 of the fennel in mini cubes, mix with 2 tbsp hacked parsley, the zest of 1/2 orange, 1/2 minced shallot and 2 tbsp orange juice. season with salt and pepper

Panfry 200g salmon, skinside down in 2 tbsp olive oil for 5 mins, then turn and do the other side 3 mins. The inside should stay nice and pink

At the same time put 500g vongole or clams in a saucepan, close with the lid and boil on a high heat till all the shells are open

Start plating with the potatoes, then spoon over the sauce. Add flakes of salmon and finish with the vongole. Sprinkle with the crunchy fennel/parsley mix

(Recipe by Hester de Goede in Delicious Magazine)

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