Langoustines

Whether fresh or frozen, cooking "langoustines" (Nephrops norvegicus) should be performed with the greatest care. What makes the difference is the attention to detail in the composition of the court bouillon, which will be used to cook our delicate shellfish. Then the cooking time will be a major element for the full success of the preparation of our graceful ladies, which can also be found under the name of Norwaigan lobster.

The cooking time depends on their size:

2 to 3 minutes for small or medium

5 to 7 minutes for large or very large

For 4 people you will need:

1kg medium langoustines


The court bouillon :


1 bouquet garni( a sprig of thyme and bay leaf tied together with a twine)

1 whole onion

4 cloves

bunch of parsley

freshly ground pepper.

Sea salt – 30g per liter – to replicate seawater. 

You will need arount 4 litre of salty water for a large pot.

Grind the pepper into the pot with salty water, add bouquet garni, peeled onion and the cloves. Add few springs of parsley and bring to boil. 

Meanwhile, rinse your langoustines with clean water for at least one minute. Then dip them in the boiling water.

Once the broth is boiling again, allow 2 minutes of cooking. In fact, overcooking make the soft flesh friable and cottony and we want to avoid this. (After 2 minutes, you can stop the cooking by pouring a cup of cold water in the court bouillon.) Gently take out the langoustines with a slotted spoon. If you pour them all into a colander in the same time you may loose a lot of legs.

Let it cool to room temperature.

Enjoy cooled or slightly warm, accompanied by buttered bread or homemade mayonnaise.

Bon appetit :-)