Crustacean Stock

Hi mum, hi sisters. Thank you for being my only readers, although you certainly do not need me to explain to you in a foreign language what you can find in most Italian cookbooks. Today we continue our fundamentals series, by adding the crustacean stock to the list. As I said before, a good stock is key to a restaurant-level dish.

There are several ways to make this recipe, some methods being more complex than others. I like this version, because it gives the maximum result with the minimum effort:

1. Start by removing the shell and head from the crustaceans.
2. Prepare a pan with a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil on a medium-high flame.
3. Once the oil is hot (you can check by throwing a breadcrumb in to see if it fries), put the shells and the heads in the pan and brown them. The more you brown them, the stronger the flavour. In any case, it is a matter of 5-10 minutes maximum.
4. After this, splash them with brandy (or another sweet liquor) and set it alight (flambé). Once the fire wanes, add cold water. Be sure to add enough water to cover the shells and heads completely. Any extra water will only dilute your stock.
5. If you don’t have cognac/brandy or you don’t feel comfortable with the flambé, pour half a glass (approx.) of white wine and let it evaporate, then cover with water as described above.
6. Right after pouring the cold water, you may choose to add herbs to the stock (see bouquet garni). I prefer to enhance the delicate flavour of the crustacean as much as possible, without adding anything extra.
7. Allow the stock to gently boil (sobbollire) for half an hour (minimum) and then filter. You have your stock!

Now, as you can see in the pictures above, I like making this recipe with the heads only. This is because I generally make this stock in preparation for a seafood pasta and I prefer to cook the tails with their shells on when preparing the sauce.

As a side-note, there is a trick for the lazy and for the late. If you are making a seafood pasta, just put the shells in the same boiling salted water in which you will later cook the pasta. They will release their flavour while you prepare the rest of the sauce!

See you in a few days with more about how to make a beautiful sauce with this stock!