“Fresh turmeric is now readily available from all good grocery shops, and when pickled, it takes on a completely different flavour profile; sweet and almost candy-like,” explains Will Bowlby, chef and founder of Kricket – an Indian-inspired series of restaurants. “It pairs well with langoustines and the spicy acidic butter that is spooned over at the end.
“This dish works equally well with lobster or prawns, but we like to keep things low-cost and local so we’ve opted for Scottish langoustines, which deserve to be far more popular than they are now. They are beautifully delicate and I hope we will be seeing a lot more of these langoustines on menus across the country.”
Give it a go at home…
Grilled langoustines with pickled turmeric and lasooni butter
Equipment
- Heavy-based saucepan
- Sterilised jar
- Bowl
- Food processor
- Heavy-based frying pan
- Small frying pan
Ingredients
- 16 langoustines fresh or frozen defrosted
- 2 vegetable oil to coat the langoustines
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- a generous pinch of sea salt
For the pickled turmeric
- 200 g fresh turmeric root
- 100 ml Pickling Liquor
For the pickling liquor (makes 1l)
- 500 ml white wine vinegar
- 500 g caster sugar
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 2 fresh Indian bay leaves
For the lasooni butter
- 200 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- a bunch of fresh coriander
- 5 garlic cloves peeled
- 4 green chillies
- a couple of squeezes of lime juice
- a pinch of salt
Method
- Make the pickling liquor. Put all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat and stir occasionally until all the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool before decanting into a sterilised jar. Store in the fridge until required.
- Make the pickle. Peel the turmeric root into thin ribbons, and place into a bowl. Steep in the pickling liquor for one to two hours at room temperature, then keep in the refrigerator until needed.
- Prepare the langoustines by cutting lengthways down the centre of each, keeping the head intact, and removing the intestinal thread. Marinate in the oil, turmeric and salt, then cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
- Make the lasooni butter by blitzing the butter in a food processor with the coriander, garlic, green chillies, a squeeze of lime juice and salt.
- Grill the langoustines under a high heat for two to three minutes on each side until just cooked. Alternatively, you can also cook the langoustines in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium to high heat. Ensure you do not overcook them.
- Melt the lasooni butter gently in a small frying pan to retain its vibrant colour. Squeeze in little more lime juice, then spoon it over the cooked langoustines. Garnish with pickled turmeric and serve.
Nutrition
Kricket: An Indian-Inspired Cookbook by Will Bowlby, photography by Hugh Johnson, is published by Hardie Grant.
Wise Living Magazine may receive a small commission to help support the running of this site from purchases made from links on this page. Affiliate links do not influence our editorial or articles published by Wise Living.
