Yotam Ottolenghi’s shellfish recipes | Shellfish (2024)

For me, a proud son of the Med, the British weather does wonders for the appetite and is the greatest attraction of a seaside holiday on these isles. It can get hot here and there over summer, of course, but it’s rarely too hot to cook and eat. On beach holidays in Italy, Greece or North Africa, often even the thought of eating anything more than a salad or slice of watermelon during the day can feel like hard work, but the British equivalent, with its pebble beaches, coastal breezes and noisy seagulls, makes me want to seek out and make the most of the catch of the day.

Clams with harissa, lemon and cream

If you want to get ahead with your preparations, fry the aromatics, add the vermouth and water, and reduce the mixture, then set aside until you’re ready to dish up. Just before serving, gently reheat the sauce, then add the clams, because they ought be cooked just before you want to eat. Serves three to four as a main course with some grilled bread and a crisp green salad.

In a large saute pan for which you have a lid, fry the oil, onion, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, chopped lemon peel and two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt on a medium flame for eight minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. Add the harissa, vermouth and 120ml water, and simmer for eight minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced significantly. Add the clams, cover the pan and cook for about six minutes, until all the clams have opened (discard any that don’t). Stir in the lemon juice and cream, then transfer the clams to a serving bowl (or individual bowls). Stir the pea shoots gently into the clams: you want them to keep quite fresh rather than letting them wilt in the heat of the sauce, scatter over the chilli and spring onion, and serve hot with the lemon wedges alongside.

Crab on toast with lime, cumin and pickled samphire

If you can’t get sprouting herbs, use a combination of finely shredded coriander and pea shoots instead. Serves four as a starter.

2 limes (you may need a third one, depending on how juicy they are)
100g samphire
1 large clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
200g white crab meat
60g soured cream
Flaked sea salt
4 large slices sourdough
25ml olive oil
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
40g sprouting herbs (ie, coriander, radish and pea shoots)

For the pickle, mix the samphire, shaved lime peel, lime juice, half the garlic clove and a quarter-teaspoon of cumin, then leave to pickle for at least an hour and no longer than two.

In a medium bowl, combine the crab with the soured cream, grated lime zest, an eighth of a teaspoon of cumin and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt.

Toast the bread until crisp and golden-brown, then lightly rub each slice on one side with the remaining half garlic clove and drizzle each slice with a half-teaspoon of oil.

Remove and discard the lime peel and garlic from the samphire pickle, then stir in the remaining tablespoon of oil, the chilli and the sprouting herbs. Pile a quarter of the pickle mix all over the top of each piece of toast, top with crab, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt and the remaining cumin. Serve with the lime wedges on the side.

Steamed mussels with herbs and crisp breadcrumbs

The method for cooking the mussels here is slightly unusual, in that it involves two dry pans and only the natural moisture of tomatoes and the mussels to steam open the shellfish. The result is rather special: intense flavours and beautifully plump mussels. Take this to the table the moment it’s ready, so the mussels are hot and freshly opened and the breadcrumbs crunchy. Serves four as a first course.

Heat the butter in a large frying pan on a medium-high flame. Add the crushed garlic and breadcrumbs, and fry for about four minutes, stirring often, until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the herbs and lemon zest.

Put two large frying pans for which you have lids on two high flames. In a bowl, gently mix the mussels and tomatoes with two tablespoons of oil, the chopped garlic, rosemary and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Divide the mixture between the two now hot pans and fry, uncovered, for two to three minutes, stirring a couple of times. Cover the pans and cook for another minute or so, until the shells open; discard any that don’t, as well as the rosemary. Transfer the mussels and their sauce to a large, shallow bowl, then drizzle over the lemon juice and the remaining two tablespoons of oil. Season with a good pinch of salt, scatter the herbs and breadcrumbs on top, and serve.

Soba noodles with prawns, herbs and passion fruit vinaigrette

80ml groundnut oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
12 sustainably sourced raw king prawns, shelled but with their tails leftintact (or 36 raw British prawns)
1 tsp ground turmeric
Salt
170g soba noodles
2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and gently crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
7 passion fruit, pulp strained through asieve to make 60ml juice
2 limes, juiced, to make 4 tsp
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soft dark brown sugar
15g coriander leaves
10g mint leaves, roughly torn
1 tsp black sesame seeds (or white), toasted

Heat 60ml oil in a medium saute panon a high flame. Add the garlic, prawns, turmeric and an eighth of ateaspoon of salt. Fry for a minute or two, until the prawns turn pink, then tip into a large bowl and leave to cool. They’ll finish off cooking in the residual heat.

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.