The shellfish giant’s menu

A beautiful drive heading north east took me to Whitby to meet Rob and Emma Green whose restaurant – Green’s – is a beacon of great seafood cooking. I am in Whitby to learn how to cook shellfish at Rob’s newly established cookery school, run out of his restaurant kitchen.
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Emma is otherwise known as artist Emma Stothard, maker of intricately woven British willow sculptures of wildlife such as boxing hares and foxes which grace the grounds of grand houses such as Highgrove and Le Manoir, Raymond Blanc’s restaurant in Oxfordshire.

Rob has been cooking seafood for 25 years. With his restaurant poised on Whitby’s quayside he is well placed to teach how to cook the freshest, tastiest and simplest of his restaurant’s dishes.

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Squid, mussels, langoustine, king and queen scallops were on the menu for the morning’s group of six keen students. Our first dish was quick to make, flamboyant and crowd pleasing Spanish favourite – paella.

“Good quality saffron is essential for this dish and so is smoked paprika, also known as pimentón picante,” Rob instructs. As he talks he sweats a base of shallots, garlic and coloured peppers before adding the paella rice.

“This is the bedrock of the dish, thereafter what you put in paella in terms of meat and fish is up for grabs. Traditionally it depended on what was available to Spanish farmers – rabbit, snails, chicken, beans and shellfish were all used. I use a mix of fresh shell fish such as mussels or clams and a mixture of raw peeled prawns to cook in the paella and large, cooked prawns, or langoustines for decoration. Meat can be added. Just a little chopped chorizo is perfect” Rob advises.

Next he cooked a simple dish of delicious, tiny queen scallops, dribbled with hazelnut pesto and cooked in minutes.

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“Queen scallops are small and have a slightly sweet, delicate flavour. They cook quickly in their tiny shells which you can buy from shell shops or online.” says Rob.

Rob stressed the importance of presenting dishes well “We eat with our eyes” he reminded us as he served rings of crisp squid in a wire basket lined with a sheet of food grade newspaper headed ‘The Daily Catch’.

Rob Green’s paella

Serves 6

Ingredients

100g chorizo, sliced into rounds

5 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

150g shallot, finely chopped

1 red pepper, seeds removed and chopped into 1cm cubes

1 green pepper, seeds removed and chopped into 1cm cubes

1½ tsp pimentón picante (smoked hot Spanish paprika)

200g cleaned squid, sliced and lightly seasoned with salt

200g large, raw peeled prawns

500g small clams

600g paella rice

1 tsp saffron strands

1½ litres fish or vegetable stock

6 langoustine or large unpeeled cooked prawns

250g mussels, cleaned and open

sea salt to season

Aioli (garlic mayonnaise) to serve

Method

Place a large paella pan or wok over a medium heat. Heat the oil gently and add the chopped shallot and garlic followed by the peppers. Sweat for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the squid and stir fry for 4 minutes or until white and opaque. Scatter the raw, peeled prawns and clams over the pan and stir well. Add the saffron strands, rice and finally the stock.

Bring to the boil and stir gently mixing the ingredients together well.

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Leave the paella to simmer for 6 minutes but do not stir. Just turn the pan around on the heat to ensure even cooking.

Arrange the mussels and unpeeled prawns over the paella and cook for a further 14 minutes – again without stirring. The rice should have absorbed the stock and should appear pitted with small holes. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Leave to rest for 5 minutes and season with a little salt before serving with aioli and fresh crusty bread.

Queen scallops with ham, hazelnut pesto and parmesan

Serves 6

Ingredients

18 scallops, cleaned and shells reserved

2 slices of York ham (Parma will do), cut into small strips

4 tbsp freshly made hazelnut pesto

25g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C/ Gas 6. Place 18 small scallop shells on a baking tray. Place a Queen scallop in each shell and top with a few shreds of ham, a teaspoon of hazelnut pesto and a pinch of finely grated Parmesan cheese.

Place in a hot oven for 3-5 minutes or until the scallops are cooked and the Parmesan cheese is bubbling.

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Serve garnished with a delicate sprig of chervil or other salad leaves and warm, fresh bread.

Hazelnut pesto

Ingredients

50g hazelnuts

50g Parmesan cheese

Large bunch of basil

150ml olive oil

2 cloves garlic

Sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

Place the hazelnuts in a small, hot frying pan and toast until they are dark brown. Shake the pan from time to time to prevent the nuts burning.

Finely grate the Parmesan cheese and place the toasted hazelnuts and the remaining ingredients into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Season the scallops with salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper squid with chilli, spring onions, lime mayonnaise

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 medium sized squid, cleaned and cut into rings

200g plain flour

10g black peppercorns, roughly cracked

10g flaked sea salt e.g. Maldon’s

100g milk

1 green chilli, deseeded and sliced

1 spring onion, sliced lengthways

Vegetable oil for frying

To serve

100ml mayonnaise, freshly made if possible

Juice of ½ lime

Method

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Dry the squid and set aside. Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a wok until a cube of bread browns in 10 seconds (or a fryer to 180°C). Dip the squid rings, first in milk and then seasoned flour.

Place the squid carefully into the hot oil and cook for 45 seconds only. Do not overcrowd the pan but cook the squid in batches.

Lift the squid from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Squeeze the lime into the mayonnaise and stir well. Place the squid in serving bowls, garnish with sliced chilli and spring onions and serve with the lime mayonnaise.

For more information about Rob Green’s cookery school www.robgreenchef.com