This is George. He is a Norwegian langoustine. He and 11 of his compatriots were the main characters in my Design Your Day activity of my tour while in Storfjord. While others in my group opted for a short kayak journey in the bays and inlets nearby, or trekked the somewhat muddy trail of a nearby forest, a few of us put on our aprons and gloves and created a most scrumptious lunch.
We entered a spacious wooden facility right off the bay and were met by the extremely youthful but ultra talented chef, with our “sous-chef stations” prepared and ready:
Our first order of business was to prepare the langoustines for quick roasting in the fire and then stewing in a broth. At first, this seemed an easy task – until I realized that being alive, the langojustine would have to be killed before eviscerating them. George seemed to know what was coming and he reared up and waved his claws (above and below) seemingly begging for mercy:
For those of you who may not know, the quickest most humane way to dispatch a langoustine is by piercing the back of its neck with a sharp knife.
I could not proffer the coup de gráce.
Fortunately my fellow sous-chef was a doctor quite used to handling a scalpel- she dispatched Gorge quickly and gently (leaving George out of picture);
Once the langoustine were dispatched I found my skills to be beheading, deveining and removing the tail flesh. A pile of carcasses was dispatched to help flavor the casserole:
The tail flesh was quickly roasted in the blazing fire behind us to be added to the casserole after it was seasoned, creamed and simmered:
While the casserole was simmering we sous-chefs prepared a dipping aioli and some spiced and oiled supper sweet cherry tomatoes. The aioli recipe was simple but a bit arduous. After smashing the garlic into a paste, combining it with egg yolk and seasonings and some secret ingredient s (!!!) we began the emulsion:
The key is to making a creamy aioli is add oil VERY slowly, literally just a few drops at a time, while continuously whisking the egg yolk mixture. This slow and steady approach helps the egg yolk and oil emulsify into a creamy dip. Once the mixture starts to thicken and come together, we then added the oil in a continual but slow stream while continuing to whisk vigorously. We took turns on this porocess so as not to strain delicate muscles. Happily, one of the strongest kayakers joined in this task and the completed aioli was perfect.
Aioli and cherry tomatoes joined some absurdly delicious sourdough bread as our appetizers:
The langoustine cassserole, paired with Chardonnay (I opted for icewater) was simply perfection:
Et voilà!
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Yummy!!!!