On the Isle of Skye both Michelin starred Loch Bay Restaurant and the fabulous Stein Inn feature langoustines on their menus, but it's also possible to buy these direct from Skipper Iain of Loch Bay Shellfish to cook for yourselves. It's completely weather dependant as to whether he goes out to collect the shellfish from the creels, if he does, he may have lobster, brown crabs or the langoustines. These must be pre-ordered as Iain only catches what is required. During our last stay at Beachcomber Cottage we were lucky enough to be able to purchase a kilo of langoustines from Iain, which I cooked the same evening.
Before cooking, the langoustine were popped into the freezer for 30 minutes to put them into a deep sleep.
Squid Ink Risotto
I was fortunate to buy a packet of risotto rice which came with a pouch of squid ink. This recipe would be perfectly nice without the squid ink, just normal risotto rice.
Ingredients
Portion of langoustine (or other seafood if you prefer). We had a kilo from Iain, which was pretty generous for the two of us.
50g unsalted butter
2 shallots, chopped
Stick of celery finely diced
Carrot peeled and finely diced
350g risotto rice, such as Arborio if you can't see squid ink
120ml dry vermouth (I used Noilly Prat), white wine is also fine
25g parmesan
1 tbsp olive oil
1 litre of hot fish stock (I used a fish stock cube for speed)
Method
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the langoustine in batches, boil each batch for 3-4 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the shells and set the shells and heads aside to roast to make a bisque or a stock for another time.
To make the risotto, melt the butter in a heavy-based pan (this will lessen the chance of the risotto burning on the bottom as it cooks) then add the shallots, celery and carrot and fry gently until softened. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until well-coated with butter.
Pour in the vermouth or wine. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat and let the rice absorb all the liquid. You can make the risotto to this stage some time before completing the dish. The final cooking time, about 20 minutes, is reduced to about 10 minutes by doing this.
Return the pan to a medium heat and add the fish stock to the rice a ladle full at a time allowing the liquid to be absorbed each time before adding the next amount. Stir continuously until the stock is almost completely absorbed.
When the rice is just tender but still firm to the bite (al dente), add the parmesan. (The small amount of stock left at this stage will be absorbed by the cheese.)
To serve, carefully mix the seafood into the risotto. Leave a few langoustines on top to garnish.
Loch Bay Shellfish:
Email: iainskye@live.com
Phone: 07483829675
Instagram: @lochbayshellfish
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