AVOCA’S SPECTACULAR SEAFOOD PLATTER

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 8-10)

For the oysters Rockefeller:

Rock salt or coarse sea salt

100g butter

1 shallot, finely diced

100g fresh breadcrumbs

1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves stripped

1 tsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp finely chopped dill

60g grated Pecorino Romano cheese

12 oysters, shucked, detached and put back in half shell Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the gambas and Dublin Bay prawns:

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

6 gambas, shells and heads still on

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp sweet paprika

6 Dublin Bay prawns

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

50ml white wine

50g butter

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

For the scallops:

300g scallops, corals removed 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 90g butter 2 garlic cloves, lightly smashed Half tsp finely chopped fresh thyme (or lemon thyme if it’s growing in your garden)

For the crab claws:

12 cooked crab claws A squeeze of lemon juice

To Serve

2 lemons, cut into wedges Chopped fresh dill

Avoca’s famous brown bread

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Pour a thick layer of rock salt or coarse sea salt over a baking tray for the oysters to sit on later.

2. For the oysters Rockefeller, melt the butter in a large frying pan over a low heat. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and cook for about 3 minutes, until softened, then add the breadcrumbs and fresh herbs and mix well.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the grated Pecorino cheese and some salt and pepper.

4. Spoon the breadcrumbs onto the oysters in the half shells. Place on the bed of salt on the baking tray and cook in the preheated oven for 6 to 7 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside.

5. You’ll need two large frying pans on the go now: one for the gambas and Dublin Bay prawns and one for the scallops. (The crab claws are already cooked, so you’ll simply heat them through at the end.)

6. Heat 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil in the first pan over a medium-high heat. Add the gambas, garlic and paprika and cook for 2 minutes before adding the Dublin Bay prawns, chilli, white wine and butter and seasoning lightly with salt and pepper.

7. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, tossing constantly, until all the prawns and gambas are pink and completely cooked through.

8. Remove the pan from the heat, toss with the parsley and dill and set aside.

9. Pat the scallops dry on kitchen paper, then season both sides with a pinch of salt. Heat the oil in a separate large heavy-based frying pan or sauté pan over a high heat.

10. Once the pan is smoking hot, add the scallops, leaving room in between them to prevent them from steaming.

11. Cook for 1 to 1 and a half minutes, just until they are nicely browned. Flip the scallops and cook for 1 minute more, until the second side is browned.

12. Transfer the scallops to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

13. Wipe the pan clean with some kitchen paper and put it back over a medium-high heat. Add the butter, smashed garlic and thyme and cook until the butter starts to foam.

14. Remove the garlic and thyme, then add the crab claws to the pan and heat through for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing in the butter. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.

15. Arrange all the cooked seafood on a large platter and serve with wedges of lemon, some freshly chopped dill and slices of Avoca’s buttered famous brown bread.