Devour the taste of the Mediterranean this summer with exquisite shellfish recipes from cookware specialist Stellar. Created with the passionate home chef in mind, these summer recipes are perfect for an al fresco feast; full of flavour and inspired by delicious, fresh seafood.
Spanish style clams with chorizo
Clams, sherry and chorizo come together in this tasteful Spanish classic. The dish is a feast for the eyes yet deceptively easy to make. Enjoy every bite al fresco on a warm summer’s day. Serve with roughly torn crusty bread to dunk in the rich, oily juices.
If fresh clams are unavailable use frozen clams or cockles.
Serves: 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, very finely chopped
300g good quality cooking chorizo, roughly chopped into small cubes
1kg clams, soaked in cold water and scrubbed clean
100ml dry sherry
Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
- Heat the oil in a saute pan and add the shallots. Cook for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften.
- Add the chorizo and cook for 3 minutes over a medium heat until the oil is released and the chorizo is beginning to crisp around the edges.
- Add the clams and sherry, give the pan a shake and cover with a lid or foil.
- Turn up the heat for about 3-4 minutes until the clams have opened.
- Take off the heat, remove any unopened clams and add a generous handful of parsley.
- Serve hot.
Shellfish in white wine with samphire
An impressive one-pan dish to enjoy outdoors in the sunshine, this is a twist on the classic ‘moules mariniere’. Perfect for seafood lovers, it’s full of fresh flavour with extra crisp and salty hints from the samphire. Pair with a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the buttery sauce – not forgetting a cold glass of your favourite dry white wine.
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1kg fresh mussels
500g-1kg fresh clams
12 large raw tiger prawns, in shells
50g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
150ml white wine
150g fresh samphire, rinsed
Method
- Wash the mussels and clams under cold running water and scrub using a small, stiff brush. Pull off the ‘beards’ from the mussels. Discard any shellfish that are open and do not close when tapped.
- Heat the butter in a large pan. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for about 5 minutes until softened but not brown.
- Add the wine and turn up the heat until bubbling then add the mussels and clams. Turn up the heat and cook with the lid on for about 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then until the shellfish have opened.
- Using a slotted spoon, lift out the shellfish to a large bowl. Discard any unopened shells.
- Add the prawns and samphire to the cooking liquor and cook for 3 minutes until the prawns have changed colour from grey to pink.
- Return the clams and mussels to the pan and mix carefully with a large spoon. Heat through and serve with plenty of crusty bread.
Pan fried prawns in garlic butter
Devour this taste of the Mediterranean. So simple yet full of flavour, it’s an exquisite side or starter. Keep the shells on the prawns while cooking to protect the delicate flesh. Serve with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce. This dish is only as delicious as the ingredients you use so try to buy the best sustainably caught prawns available.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
16 large raw prawns shell on
2 tbsp olive oil
Large knob of butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely
Juice of a lemon
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (or a small handful)
Method
- Melt the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a moderately high heat. As the butter starts to froth add the garlic and fry for a minute or so. Allow to soften but not burn.
- Add the prawns and spoon the butter and oil mixture over them as they cook. Turn if necessary and cook for approximately 3 minutes until pink.
- Add the lemon juice and parsley and serve immediately.
Pan fried Dover sole and prawns with vanilla black pepper butter and Sichuan lemon samphire
Serve something truly special with one of the most prized fish from British waters. Stellar teamed up with seafood specialists Wright Brothers to create this wonderful take on the Dover sole. Best cooked whole on the bone, the Dover sole has a lovely, sweet flavour with a firm and almost meaty texture. It pairs beautifully with the sweet prawns, vanilla butter sauce and peppery accents in this dish. Gently fry and serve with crunchy samphire for an unforgettable fish feast.
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Vanilla pepper butter
150ml dry white vermouth
200ml fish stock
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
½ tsp coarse cracked black pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter. Soft
1 tbsp plain flour
Rock salt to season
Pan fried sole and prawns
1 tbsp olive oil
2 x Wright Brothers whole Dover sole
100g Wright Brothers raw prawns
2 tbsp plain flour
Sea salt, black pepper and lemon juice to season
Sichuan Lemon Samphire
150g Wright Brothers fresh samphire
1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, cracked
½ lemon, juice
Method
- Begin with the sauce. Add the vermouth, fish stock, vanilla and pepper to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced. Mix the butter with the flour to make a smooth paste and whisk into the reduction. Taste, season with salt and set aside to keep warm.
- Heat the oil for the fish in a large sauté pan. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dust both fish fillets, shaking off the excess. Reduce the heat in the pan to medium and add the fish, skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip. Add the prawns and cook for 3 minutes more, or until the fish is tender and the prawns are pink.
- Remove from the pan and divide between two plates.
- Add the butter for the samphire to the sauté pan and heat over a medium high heat. Add the samphire and Sichuan pepper then sauté for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Taste – the samphire is salty so it shouldn’t need any extra.
- Drizzle the butter sauce over the fish and prawns and serve with the samphire on the side.
All imagery credit: Stellar
