Rachel Allen - Entertaining at Home

This clam dish is great rustic Spanish food for casual entertaining. Serve it as a tapa or in a big bowl in the centre of the table, letting your guests help themselves. Make sure you have lots of crusty white bread to mop up all the delicious juices. You can make this with paprika (sweet or hot) or you can use chopped parsley instead. I like to use sweet smoked paprika.

SERVES AT LEAST 6

1.5kg (3lb 5oz) fresh clams

Salt

5 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp plain flour

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

250ml (9fl oz) dry white wine

3 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

1 First wash the clams by placing them in a bowl of cold water with a good pinch of salt and leaving them for 10 minutes, so that they release any remaining sand. Drain in a colander or sieve and sort through them, discarding any shells that are open and which don’t close when tapped on a worktop.

2 Pour the olive oil into a large, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for 6–7 minutes or until nearly soft and slightly golden.

3 Add the flour and the paprika and stir for 30 seconds, mixing them in with the oil. Pour in the wine, stirring to remove any lumps from the flour, then tip in the clams, cover with a lid and cook for 3–4 minutes over a medium heat or until they have opened (discarding any that don’t).

4 Stir in half the parsley (if using) and taste the sauce for seasoning, adding a little lemon juice if necessary. Serve in a big wide bowl with the remaining parsley over the top and some good crusty white bread to mop up all the delicious juices.

A bisque is a gorgeous rich creamy soup made using fish, shellfish or meat. This crab bisque is fab — the sweetness of the crab meat is lightened ever so slightly by the tomatoes and ginger. You can either buy cooked crab meat or to cook your own (see below). Serve the soup as a starter or for lunch with crusty bread.

SERVES AT LEAST 6

50g (2oz) butter

1 onion (about 200g/7oz), peeled and chopped

Salt and ground black pepper

400g (14oz) cooked crab meat from 2 medium–large crabs (white and brown meat if possible)

100ml (3½fl oz) dry white wine

2 tsp peeled and finely chopped root ginger

600ml (1 pint) Crab or Prawn/Shrimp Stock (see opposite) or fish stock

200g (7oz) chopped fresh or tinned tomatoes

100ml (3½fl oz) single or regular cream

1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat, then add the onion with some salt and pepper and cook for 6–8 minutes or until the onion is softened but not browned.

2 Add all the remaining ingredients apart from the cream and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes or until the tomatoes are completely soft.

3 Remove the saucepan from the heat and whiz the soup in a blender. Reheat gently if necessary and stir in the cream, season to taste and serve immediately with some crusty bread.

1 First place the crab in the freezer for a couple of hours so that it is unconscious before boiling. To cook it, place in a large saucepan, cover with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt for every 1.2 litres (2 pints) of water and bring to the boil.

2 Simmer on a medium heat for 20 minutes per 450g (1lb) and then pour off about two-thirds of the water, cover with a lid and continue to cook for a further 6 minutes. To check to see if the crab is cooked, gently shake it quite close to your ear and you shouldn’t hear liquid splashing around. Remove the crab and allow to cool.

3 Once the crab has cooled, remove the large claws and crack these (using a heavy weight or nut crackers), then extract every bit of meat using the handle of a teaspoon. Retain the shell if making dressed crab or stock, otherwise discard all of the shell. Turn the body of the crab upside down and pull out the centre portion.

4 Discard the gills, known as ‘dead man’s fingers’, each about 4cm (1½ in ) long. Scoop out all the lovely brown meat and add it to the white meat from the claws. The meat can be used immediately or frozen for future use.

NOTE: 450g (1lb) of cooked crab in the shell yields approximately 175–225g (6–8oz) crab meat.

If you have any shells left over after preparing and eating shellfish such as crabs, prawns or shrimps, then use them to make this shellfish stock. It can be used for the Crab Bisque (opposite) as well as the Ballycotton Prawn Soup. Stock can easily be frozen in small portions to be used whenever you need.

MAKES ABOUT 1.2 LITRES (2 PINTS)

1 litre (1¾ pints) crab, prawn or shrimp shells

1 glass of dry white wine

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stick of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

A few sprigs of parsley

1 small bay leaf

6 whole black peppercorns

1 tsp salt

1 Place the shells in a saucepan, cover with 1 litre (1¾ pints) of water and bring to the boil.

2 Add the remaining ingredients, bring back up to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer (but do not boil) for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam that appears on the surface. If you are making crab stock, it is necessary to simmer the shells in a pan covered with a lid for 20 minutes.

3 Pour through a fine sieve or through muslin and use immediately or either keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 1 month.

If you are using large crab shells, first break them up slightly by placing them in a thick plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin or even a hammer.

This is, of course, a classic, and when made with freshly seared tuna and delicious seasonal vegetables, lovely free-range eggs and really good olive oil, it is a perfect, fresh daytime dish.

SERVES 6

18 small new potatoes, unpeeled

Salt and ground black pepper

18 French beans

3 handfuls of rocket leaves

3 chunky tuna steaks, seared

6 eggs, hard-boiled (see tip below), peeled and cut into quarters

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp sliced or torn basil

6 very ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

24 black olives with the stones in, or pitted if you prefer (see tip below)

2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

9 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 1cm (½in) chunks

18 tinned anchovies, drained and rinsed

Handful of chopped mixed herbs

For the dressing

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp runny honey

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil, then cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes and cut into 2cm (¾in) chunks and set aside.

2 Meanwhile, bring another saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt and cook the French beans for 3–4 minutes or until just cooked but still a little ‘squeaky’ when bitten, then drain and set aside.

3 Next make the dressing by placing all the ingredients in a clean screw-top jam jar. Season with a little salt and pepper, then place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously. Set aside.

4 Place the rocket leaves in a serving dish, then arrange the cooked potatoes and beans randomly on top, along with the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, pour over the dressing and sprinkle with the herbs. Toss the salad so all the ingredients are evenly coated in the dressing and serve immediately.