Simon Stallard - The Hidden Hut - Irresistible Recipes from Cornwall’s Best-kept Secret

Lobsters are a luxury item and this is all about getting the most out of your catch or purchase. It is a way of serving four people a thoughtful two-course lunch using just two lobsters. Start with the summer vegetable cigars and tarragon dip, then finish with the velvety bisque and toasts.

FEAST

Serves 4

2 live or cooked cold-water lobsters

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE LOBSTER BISQUE

2 tbsp olive oil

50g butter

4 celery sticks, sliced

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 onions, chopped

½ fennel bulb, sliced

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

½ tsp coriander seeds

¼ tsp fennel seeds

1 star anise

2 tbsp tomato purée

100ml Pernod

300ml white wine

2 litres fish stock

2 bay leaves

zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon

50g tarragon sprigs

2 tbsp double cream

FOR THE LOBSTER CLAW TOASTS

zest of ½ lemon

1 spring onion

a small handful of chives

1 large egg

2 slices of white sourdough bread or 1 huge slice

sunflower oil, for shallow-frying

FOR THE TARRAGON DIP

6 tbsp mayonnaise

6 tbsp crème fraîche

zest and juice of 2 limes

a handful of tarragon sprigs, leaves roughly chopped

FOR THE SUMMER VEGETABLE AND LOBSTER CIGARS

zest and juice of 1 lime

1 small mint sprig, leaves shredded

4 sheets of spring roll pastry

1 courgette, cut into thin strips

1 egg, beaten

sunflower oil, for deep-frying

If you’ve caught your own lobsters or are buying live ones, you’ll need to kill them before cooking. Put the live lobsters into the freezer for 30 minutes to sedate them. Once sedated, lie one flat, stomach side down, on a chopping board. Spike it firmly and quickly with a large sharp knife in the base of its head and swiftly cut straight down. Repeat with the other lobster. They are now ready to cook.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil with a large pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the lobsters and set the timer to boil for 8 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pan and refresh in iced water. Now continue with the preparation for cooked lobsters.

If you’re buying cooked lobsters, start here. Separate the claws and tail from the body: this can be done simply by twisting them. Now it’s time to pick out the tail meat. Try to keep it whole and pull it out in one piece, cutting down the back and discarding the intestinal vein. Put it onto a plate. Crack the claws with a nutcracker and pick the meat out into a bowl. Reserve the body shells. You are now ready to start cooking the different dishes.

To make the lobster bisque, heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a high heat and fry the lobster body shells for 5 minutes or until coloured and fragrant. Remove the shells and add the celery, garlic, onions, fennel, chilli and spices, then cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.

Add the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute. Then deglaze the pan with the Pernod, stirring to pick up the flavours in the pan. Add the wine and stock, then return the lobster body shells to the pan. Add the bay leaves, lemon zest and tarragon, and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes.

Pass the liquid through a fine sieve, discarding the other ingredients, then return it to the pan and cook over a high heat to reduce it by about one-quarter; this will take about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep aside until ready to serve.

To make the lobster claw toasts, put the claw meat in the bowl of a food processor and add the lemon zest, spring onion, chives and egg. Season with salt and pepper, then blitz. (Alternatively, chop the ingredients finely using a sharp knife, then put in a bowl. Beat the egg and stir it in.) Spread this wet mix on top of the bread slices.

Add the oil to a depth of 1cm in a large frying pan and heat until hot. Fry the toasts, lobster side down first. Turn over after 1 minute and fry for another 1 minute on the other side until golden. Put to one side until ready to serve.

To make the tarragon dip, put the mayonnaise and crème fraîche in a bowl and add the lime zest and juice and the tarragon. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make the summer vegetable and lobster cigars, shred the tail meat lengthways into long strips and place in a bowl. Add the lime zest and juice and the mint, and season with salt and pepper. Put to one side.

Lay out the spring roll pastry sheets, then cut each square in half diagonally to make eight triangles. Put the shredded lobster meat and courgette strips on the wide side of each triangle, then brush the edges of the pastry with the egg and roll up. Fold over the ends to close. The rolls are now ready to fry.

Fill a deep-fryer or a large heavy-based saucepan one-third full with oil and heat it to 175°C (test by frying a small cube of bread; it should brown in 40 seconds). Add the rolls and fry until golden. Serve the lobster cigars alongside the tarragon dip as a starter. Then when you’re ready for the bisque, warm it up on the stove and heat the toasts in a preheated oven for a few minutes so they are warm and crispy to serve.

WEST BRITON CRAB CLAWS WITH LEMON AND GARLIC BROTH

A fabulously messy thing to eat, these claws are served on a thick base of newspaper (the West Briton is particularly good!) with a hammer, a shellfish pick, a bucket for the shells and a bowl of lemon water for rinsing your hands.

Serves 4

1kg cooked crab claws

200g butter, softened

5 garlic cloves, crushed

a handful of parsley leaves, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

crusty bread, to serve

newspaper ( West Briton ideally!), a hammer, or nut crackers, and shellfish picks or skewers

FOR THE BROTH

200g butter

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

2 bay leaves

200ml white wine

20g tarragon sprigs

10 black peppercorns

10 coriander seeds

2 tbsp sea salt

First, make the broth. Take a large saucepan that will hold the claws, add the butter and melt it over a medium heat. Add the garlic, lemon and bay leaves, and cook until the garlic just starts to colour. Pour in the wine and cook until reduced by half and there is no smell of alcohol. Add the remaining broth ingredients and 300ml water, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to bring the broth to a gentle boil, then add the crab claws and return to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes to heat through.

Transfer the crab claws and broth to a large serving bowl. Put the butter in a separate bowl and add the garlic, parsley and olive oil. Mix together well, then spoon over the hot crab claws and broth to make a buttery sauce.

Cover your table with sheets of the newspaper of your choice and put the bowl of crab claws and broth in the middle. You will also need a small hammer or nut crackers, a bucket for the shells and a bowl of lemon water for rinsing your hands.

To eat, scoop the crab claws out of the broth and crack with the hammer using just enough pressure to crack the shell without shattering it into lots of small pieces. Pull out the meat using the hard cartilage in the centre of the claw to help; if you are lucky it will come out in one piece. Alternatively, extract or pick out the meat using a shellfish pick or skewer. Mop up the buttery cooking broth with plenty of crusty bread.

FRITTO MISTO