Recipes

Grilled Mix Seafood Platter

Preparation & Cooking Time:
Serves:

Ingredients

For the crab

10g lemon thyme, leaves picked

10g rosemary

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp salt

8 stone crab crab claws

freshly ground black pepper

For the squid

4 squid tubes, cleaned

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs rosemary

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

zest of ½ lemon

For the mussels

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 shallot, peeled and finely sliced

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

250g fresh mussels, washed and de-bearded

50g dry Vermouth

50g dry white wine

2 stalks of basil, bruised

juice of ½ lemon

zest of ½ lemon

For the mussel emulsion

80g reserved mussel stock

20g pasteurised egg yolk

120g vegetable oil

juice of ½ lemon

zest of ½ lemon, grated using a microplane

For the squid BBQ sauce

25g squid ink

2 tsp lemon juice}

1 tsp lemon zest, grated using a microplane

1 Tbsp olive oil

20g tomato ketchup

For the lemon and herb mayo

150g mayonnaise

10g flat leaf parsley

10g chives

juice of ½ lemon

zest of ½ lemon, grated using a microplane

For the tomato garnish

16 cherry tomatoes

3 tsp olive oil

½ tsp caster sugar

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt

Tabasco sauce, to taste

For the gin and celery cucumber garnish

1 cucumber

1 Tbsp gin

½ tsp celery salt

freshly ground black pepper

For the baby corn garnish

16 baby corn spears

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper


Method

To prepare the crab claws, put 1.5 litres water into a large pan and add all the ingredients except the crab claws. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to the boil, then add the crab claws. Remove the pan from the heat only once the water has been brought back up to the boil after adding the crab claws. Allow to stand for 12 minutes, then remove the crab (discarding the water) and chill immediately by placing the claws into a bowl placed over iced water. Once cooled, place in the fridge to cool completely. Crack the claws using a crab cracker or by using the back of a large knife. Holding the black pincers, remove all other shell leaving the pincers intact - exposing the meat. Cover and set aside in the fridge until needed.

To prepare the squid, slice each cleaned tube open to make a flat piece. Rinse under cold, running water to remove any grit, then pat dry. Use a sharp knife to lightly score into a criss-cross shape on the squid. Place the 4 flat, scored pieces into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, using your hands to rub into the squid. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

For the mussels, heat the grapeseed oil in a pan over moderate heat and gently cook the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the mussels, Vermouth and white wine and place a lid on the pan. Allow to steam for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan gently. Remove the pan from the heat and leave for 30 seconds. Discard any mussels that do not open, then strain the open ones through a colander or sieve, reserving the mussel liquor. Place the mussels in a bowl over iced water to quickly chill, then place the cooled mussels in the fridge. In the meantime, add the bruised basil leaves, lemon juice and zest to the strained mussel juice and allow to infuse and chill completely before straining through a fine mesh sieve.
Make the emulsion by weighing out 80g of the infused mussel stock and blitzing with the egg yolk using a hand blender. Slowly add the oil to form an emulsion. Season with the lemon juice and zest. Cover and set aside in the fridge until needed.

For the BBQ sauce, simply mix all the ingredients together and set aside. For the lemon and herb mayo, combine all the ingredients, apart from the herbs, which should be finely chopped and added just before serving.
To make the tomato garnish, bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the tomatoes for 20 seconds before removing with a slotted spoon and refreshing in iced water. Gently remove the skins using your fingertips, then place the skinless tomatoes into a bowl along with the remaining ingredients, mixing until well combined. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours. Just before serving, place them on a skewer.

For the gin and celery cucumber garnish, cut the cucumber in half and trim off the ends. Slice each half in half again, lengthwise. Cut each of these 4 pieces into quarters so you are left with 16 sticks. Lay the cucumber sticks on a tray and drizzle over the gin, then season with celery salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
To prepare the baby corn, soak the small skewers in water for a few minutes, then insert them into through the bottom of each corn spear, piercing along the length. Drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to cook on the hot BBQ.
When ready to cook, remove all the ingredients from the fridge and light the coals on the Hub. First, lay crab claws and marinated squid out on a tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Once the coals are ready and glowing white, lay the crab claws and squid onto the grill (squid placed scored side down) and grill for 2 minutes before turning using tongs. Once the squid curls up, grill foran additional 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and place on a warm tray. The crab should be grilled for 4 minutes in total and show some charring. Remove the crab from the grill and place onto the warm tray with the squid. Season with lemon juice and place the tray in the warm cupboard under the Hub while the mussels and baby corn are grilled. At the same time, you can grill the baby sweetcorn skewers and place in the warm oven alongside the crab and squid.

Place the mussels open side down onto the grill, where the shell will prevent the meat from coming into direct contact with the grill. Scatter two tablespoons smoking chips on the coals directly underneath where the mussels have been placed and leave for 1-2 minutes, to allow the mussels to warm through and become lightly smoked. Remove and set aside on the same warm tray. When ready to serve, brush the warm squid with the squid BBQ sauce, then slice into piece into three and skewer onto cocktail sticks. Lightly drizzle the mussels with the mussel emulsion.

Arrange the crab claws, squid and mussels on a platter large enough to accommodate a pot of lemon and herb mayo as well as all the tomato, baby corn and cucumber garnishes.


Notes

Recipe from our friends at Everdure by Heston Blumenthal