Shellfish Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets

Raymond Blanc is opening the doors of his kitchen for a journey of discovery.

Cooking is about curiosity and, if I can inspire you to be curious, I'll be a very happy man.

Divulging the secrets of his simplest...

Perfectly cooked.

..and most dazzling dishes.

Glorious food.

Be inspired by his passion...

Food is so much more than cooking and eating. It's about living life.

Share the secrets of his success.

The wonderful thing having cooking secrets is the ability to share them with you.

Tonight on Kitchen Secrets, Raymond shares his love of seafood

with recipes that celebrate the best of British shellfish,

from a foolproof salad of tasty tender squid...

Very summery, very lively.

It sings. Look at those colours.

..to the sweetest of Cornish scallops, spiced to perfection...

When you are able to cook with produce like that, just have to be very emotional.

And, to finish, a luxurious Scottish lobster, served with a delicate cardamom red pepper jus -

a work of art on a plate.

Look at that. Ooh la la! That lobster jus is wonderful.

In his Oxfordshire kitchen, Raymond's daily delivery of shellfish has arrived.

Beautiful scallops, also mussels.

I love shellfish simply because I come from a region where we eat a lot of meat.

There's no sea around, so the first time I came in Great Britain,

I looked for this fish because I couldn't find it.

My first fish was in a Wimpy, which I thought was a bistro, and the fish was square.

I've never seen a square fish in my life.

For Raymond's first recipe, a French bistro classic, made with shellfish from Devon,

moules marinieres.

Full of garlic and shallots and parsley and a bit of white wine.

Simple - it takes you three minutes of your life, only three minutes of your life.

Here I've got my beautiful mussels here, OK?

And the first thing I'm going to do is to clean them up, so we've got to de-beard them.

Don't scrape your mussel because, if you scrape your mussel,

your water's going to be black. OK? So don't do that.

If you have a cracked mussel, just simple take it away. Don't take any risks.

There we are.

Next, Raymond sweats a crushed clove of garlic and a finely chopped onion in 30 grams of butter.

Don't pre-heat your pot.

Better to sweat your onion from cold temperature. You don't want to brown your onions.

Then he adds herbs...

Thyme and bay leaf.

..and some white wine.

A little bit of white wine.

100 grams for four. And the wine creates that wonderful structure, OK?

Bringing the acidity another layer. A quick boil - two seconds - just to remove most of the alcohol.

If you don't want wine, you can replace it with a bit of lemon juice.

Lemon juice will be just fine.

Can you put that on the recipe, OK, Adam? If you don't like wine,

use lemon juice, eh? But you're a sad person.

Oh, sorry, don't...

Oh.

Fantastic, so simple.

So now, we always steam them.

That will take only three minutes' cooking.

They're all opening up. You can see all that jus, look at that jus at the bottom.

Look at that.

As the mussels cook, they release their juices, infusing the sauce with the flavour of the sea.

Last into the pot, a generous handful of chopped parsley and a dash of cream.

Remember, it's sea water in the mussels, so to round that, we need a little bit of cream.

One teaspoon per person.

Adam, dinner is ready! Tres bien.

I think they're lovely quality, Adam. Really lovely quality.

Lots of juice as well.

The mussels are served straight from the pot with fresh bread,

and garnished with more parsley.

-Adam, you have the big one.

-Thanks.

-I will have the small one.

The jus is my favourite.

It's home on a Friday.

It's just the perfect lunch.

All that is missing is a nice glass of Muscadet, do you agree?

-Or a beer.

-Or a beer. I knew he would say that.

You see, that is a beer culture on that side. We've got to change that.

Next, chargrilled squid with Provencal vegetables.

Spicy marinated squid,

served with crunchy fennel and courgettes and a peppery rocket and parmesan salad.

A lot of people associate, of course, squids with being rubbery

and the secret of cooking squid is speed - high heat and fast.

Raymond begins by removing the squid's inedible intestines.

You place your hand behind the head here,

and then you pull very gently.

That away. Don't need that.

He then separates the tentacles.

So, put a bit of salt here in your hands. You can easily move the skin away.

Then cut that in half.

Now he can remove the squid's inner shell.

Beautiful. Isn't it fantastic? It's called the quill. Beautiful.

Next, Raymond uses a sharp knife to make a criss-cross pattern on the inside of the squid.

The scoring is very important because the deeper the better,

because the heat can permeate more into it and faster,

and that is very, very important. For that kind of cooking, it's got to be fast.

OK? So then we cut it like that.

Voila.

There is all the body of the squid.

Adam.

-That's it. You're my chilli taster.

-Yeah. No, I'm not tasting that one.

Trust me. Adam, be a sport. Go on, go on.

Are you going to do the same?

Yeah. Of course, see.

You're not chewing it.

Caught me!

That is seriously...

-It's fire in your mouth.

-I'm not playing any more.

-Look at your colour, Adam.

He's gone very seriously red.

To give the squid a kick of heat, Raymond prepares a spicy marinade

using coriander and grated palm sugar.

The sugar, of course, is the catalyst of flavour.

A little bit of lemon juice and a little bit of chilli.

A pinch of salt - not too much, we don't want to extract all the juices.

Just a bit of olive oil so it doesn't stick as well against the grill.

I'm going to marinate it for maybe half an hour.

For the salad, Raymond is using thinly sliced courgettes and fennel.

He grills them quickly to retain their texture and flavour.

Very important to barely cook them, even if it's only once side, because I cut them quite thinly.

So that only requires about one minute grilling, no more.

Next, the squid goes onto the grill, scored side down.

So we've got a beautiful marinade which has permeated the squids here very nicely.

The mistake, of course, is to overcook it because then it becomes very chewy and very dry.

But it's very fascinating because the marking does three things.

You can see now, one of them is to curl up the squid.

Number two, the scoring helped the heat to permeate.

And the flavour to permeate. So every little step is important that you understand it well

and then you have a dish like this one.

A generous squeeze of lemon enlivens the squid's flavour.

To serve, Raymond arranges the grilled vegetables and some oven-dried tomatoes.

Always try a five.

Four is not a good number.

Makes it more appetising.

He tops off the dish with a fresh, peppery rocket salad...

Voila. Big flakes of parmesan.

..and a few shavings of parmesan.

It sings. Look at those colours. They're so attractive, but I can

assure you that the textures and the taste will also be there. You must try it.

Whether it's a lettuce or a lobster,

for Raymond, seeing where his ingredients come from is integral to his life as a chef,

even if it means a 5am start.

I've never been lobster fishing, so obviously I'm going to learn a great deal

on the behaviour of these...prehistoric monsters.

Raymond's come to Pittenweem in the East Neuk of Fife,

where boats fish exclusively for shellfish.

Almost 800 tons of shellfish are landed each year at this port.

Lobster from this part of Scotland is prized all over the world.

Look at that!

That's a ten-year-old lobster.

Serious, "Look in my eyes, look in my eyes." Yeah.

Beautiful.

To see first hand how lobsters start their journey to his kitchen,

Raymond is joining the crew of Westhaven III.

What kind of weather today?

You told me ferocious, is it?

It is ferocious, yeah.

-Are you trying to scare me?

-No, no. Not at all.

And, by the way,

here it says Westhaven number two.

What happened to number one?

I sold it.

You sold it?

Good, yeah, reassuring.

I was about to make my will.

The weather in the Forth Estuary isn't looking kind.

He says that's going to get worse.

Oh!

Oh.

It's nice average sea. It's a very nice sea at the moment

but I'm just wondering what it's like when it's ferocious.

I wouldn't want to be a fisherman. My God!

I feel a bit queasy.

The Westhaven collects up to 100 pots a day.

They are laid in fleets, with each fleet comprising 30 pots.

You cannot get more wild than that, eh?

The pots are lifted, emptied, baited with mackerel and returned.

What is very fascinating is when you look at that kind of fishing, it has not changed for millions of years.

But it's very hard work and look how fast they work, those guys.

Look at that the skill and the speed.

Lobsters that are caught are measured.

Any juveniles are thrown back.

If you look, he's measuring from eye to the first...

-87mm.

-87mm, then back into the sea.

And it is wonderful to see that.

That one is good size. That's perfect.

Scottish lobster is very well-known.

It's probably one of the very best.

There is the Brittany lobster, of course.

And the Cornish lobsters, but the Scottish lobster is absolutely succulent.

Very sweet, wonderful flavour and texture.

You think immediately of a beautiful seafood tray.

The lobster's been poached, cut in half, with a nice mayonnaise.

The world would be just perfect with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc Muscadet. Just right.

Now the boxes have been put back again with the bait back inside

and those boxes shoot down the line into the sea for the next lot. It's quite an amazing process.

With the pots gathered in, fishing is over for the day.

Make sure that doesn't cause any damage.

Voila. That's it, thank you.

Cush, come here. Tell me how they've been fished.

-Hand-dived.

-Hand-dived. Are you sure?

-Yeah.

That scallop will spawn up to 1,000 egg and they can be so easily spoiled, simply by dredging.

Whereas here, hand dive - that is the result.

Raymond's next recipe uses meltingly succulent sweet scallops.

Plump hand dived scallops are served with delicately spiced cauliflower three ways -

velvety puree, caramelised slices and Indian sliced bhajis.

So this dish is very much inspired by the spices of India.

A bit of complexity, but what is good, you can prepare a lot in advance.

So all that you have to do at the end is pan-fry the scallops, and finish the bungee - bhaji!

Not the bungee, the bhaji! OK, big difference.

So I'm going to prepare my scallops.

Raymond's scallops have taken at least five years to reach this size.

So, of course,

press very much against the shell here, so that's why you take a flexible palette knife.

If it was hard, I would remove half of the scallop. You pass

the blade of your knife right at the back of it here and you lift. Voila.

Look how beautiful they are.

Extraordinary. Now, when you are able to cook with produce like that,

you just have to be very emotional. It's beautiful.

Cush, this into the fridge.

We are going to do a curry oil, OK? Going to be used to dress

the dish and marinate as well some elements of the dish.

Raymond adds a tablespoon of madras curry powder to a warm dry frying pan for five minutes.

And, very gently, you warm it up.

The mistake, of course, is to toast it too hard.

You just want to extract the essential oils out of it,

all the flavour.

And already in here some wonderful stuff is happening.

It's really lovely.

To give the oil a tangy punch,

Raymond adds a teaspoon of the warm curry powder to the grated lime zest and two shredded lime leaves.

Two lime leaves is plenty.

The lime leaves are affected by termites here

and they're not allowed to be flown fresh into this country,

so they are frozen.

But it's good because of the lovely flavours, so no problem.

Then he finely slices lemongrass and a little grated ginger.

Plenty. And all these wonderful ingredients.

We need about 100 grams of your best olive oil here.

The oil is left to infuse in a warm place for one hour.

So then we're going to prepare the batter to deep-fry florets of cauliflower.

Not all of it, just tiny little amounts.

To make the batter,

he uses 30 grams of gram flour.

So chickpea flour - really lovely flavour.

It doesn't behave the same as a wheat flour,

but for all the pan-frying, deep-frying, perfect.

A tiny little bit of turmeric.

Lots of colouring and a flavour as well.

Raymond adds finely chopped coriander and chilli to give bite, colour and flavour.

And, for a light and crispy finish, 40 millilitres of cold water is gently stirred in.

Maybe a pinch of salt.

A little seasoning and the batter is set aside, while Raymond begins his cauliflower puree.

They give me a mahusive cauliflower.

The cauliflower sweats in butter and is then cooked for ten minutes in whole milk.

A tiny bit of cayenne pepper.

To give a silky luxurious finish, Raymond uses a blender.

That will go in a bain-marie.

I'm doing some little florets

for deep frying.

Next, the florets go into the spicy bhaji batter.

That will take about two minutes.

The bhajis are ready when they turn a rich golden brown.

The moisture inside your cauliflower shouldn't try to escape,

so if your batter is not cooked enough,

it will lose the lovely texture, the crunchy texture.

So, of course, the proof is in the pudding, as ever.

A fantastic starter or an appetiser.

With the curry oil and cauliflower prepared, Raymond can now cook the scallops.

There I can use my best olive oil.

And I don't move them. Don't move them. Let the heat come through.

I want the taste and the taste I get by slow caramelisation of the scallops. Beautiful gentle browning.

It's not dry. It's going to be beautiful.

It's going to be absolutely lovely.

A bit more, maybe a tiny bit.

Let's have a look. Voila.

Oh, that is lovely.

Look at that.

To serve, Raymond spreads the cauliflower puree onto the plate.

This is the nicest, fattest... Oh, who shall I put there?

I love them both.

Look at that. Oh!

Take the little bhajis here,

beautiful, look at that, lovely.

Crisp, sweet slices of cauliflower have been fried and are brushed with a spicy curry oil.

Which is going to give that an amazing texture.

For a cool lemon flavour, Raymond adds a herb called ice lettuce.

And it's lemony. Really, that's why it fits so well.

Any little leaf - a little bit of rocket would be very nice too. A bit of mustard cress.

Just to finish it off, a tiny bit of chive.

Some drops of the curry oil and a little drizzle of the rich pan juices.

-Very good, you?

-Yeah, good.

-So, Gary Jones, we worked together for 12 years.

-14.

14? Oh, my. 14.

Really good. I love the textures because you've the crunch. Light curry coming through as well.

-Lovely dish.

-All these lovely spices.

The world of gastronomy is being influenced by so many other cultures.

It has enriched me as a Frenchman. That means I'm a better Frenchman.

Ask Gary, he will tell you.

He's a better Frenchman.

Absolutely humongous. Look at that.

He's a monster. They are prehistoric monsters, aren't they?

So which one is a female? Come on. Stop it.

You recognise a female because she's bad-tempered first.

Hey, stop it!

It's a she because the tail is very wide.

If you look in comparison, that's a male.

Look, the male is tight.

The tail is very tight.

For Raymond's finale, a lavish dish of lobster a la plancha -

tender grilled lobster drizzled with an intense cardamom-scented red pepper jus,

served with new potatoes, herbs and caviar.

Da-da. Voila.

There's a nice female here.

Yeah, I think we go with that, yeah.

That's lovely. We want very lively lobsters.

OK? And then you are in for a treat.

Raymond is using a machine which passes a current through the lobster, killing it instantly.

That's it.

There's always this morality about killing an animal, so you want to make sure

that the animal dies fastest.

We have that responsibility to make sure the animal dies quickly and fast, OK? Without pain.

Freezing the lobster for two hours

before cutting through the midline of its underside will kill it quickly, too.

Tres bien. So now the lobster is dead,

so we can do what we need to do.

First, Raymond removes the claws.

It's a big one. We have the tail and we have the body.

We're going to keep the body to do the sauce

and, I can assure you, delicious and very dramatic as well.

Next, he removes the intestines, leaving in the lungs, the dead men's fingers.

There's so many preconceived ideas. "Dead man's fingers, oh, my God, poison!"

No. It's the lungs of the lobster.

All that you have through here is sea water passing through.

Let's taste one. Come on, Adam. Have one. Come on. Come on, Adam!

Come here. Come on, please! Come on, Adam. Just taste it.

Come on. It's a little finger.

Look at that. Voila. Sea water.

-Trust me. You must trust me.

-It's salty.

-You should know that.

-That's six years you work with me. He doesn't trust me yet.

-If I'm ill tomorrow...

Do you think I'm going to poison him?

Next, he cuts the body into small pieces. They will form the base for the sauce.

You are going to do an incredible sauce just with those shells,

roasting it until wonderful lobster flavour comes through.

The shell pieces are set aside to be roasted later.

So now we are going to blanch the tail,

plunging it in boiling water for 15 seconds.

Cook the outside and then you can easily remove the tail.

These are intestines of the lobster.

These that you can move away.

That's the curry oil that I made for the scallops.

It's not that I'm short of ideas, it simply just happened that way.

Having cooked the claws in boiling water for five minutes,

Raymond cracks the shells to release their meat.

Voila. That one has just burst out here.

I want to keep that in the fridge until I need it.

So let's put that away. Adam, please.

Merci.

Next, Raymond begins the base for his sauce, roasting the lobster shells to intensify their flavour.

I want to caramelise them, I want to brown them, I want to really taste

that amazing flavour of that lobster.

And I can only achieve that if I brown it, I caramelise it beautifully.

You can hear it. That pan tells you exactly what's happening

in here and, of course, confirmed by this instrument here.

SIZZLING

The body of the sauce is made from red peppers, roughly chopped and blitzed until smooth.

Once liquidised, the peppers are sieved into a pan and Raymond adds his spice - aromatic ginger.

Crush those cardamom seeds so they can release their flavour.

And cardamom.

He adds reduced white wine to the lobster shells

to bring a little acidity.

OK. That's it. To deglaze all the lovely pan juices.

Voila. I put all that in here to simmer very slowly.

A gentle simmer will release maximum flavour.

I don't want to boil,

I want an infusion.

I want something where all these flavours merge

and marry each other. It's a marriage. It's a marriage.

It's a wonderful simple alchemy here, which is exciting.

Cooks feel truly excited.

The sauce is strained through a fine sieve and reduced by half, making it even more intense.

Look at that! Ooh la la.

Let me tell you about this flavour.

It doesn't need no salt.

Really no salt because the spice is here,

the fruit of the red peppers is here,

the ginger is there, the cardamom just marries everything

and that lobster jus is wonderful.

It's like a painter.

You feel like you want to take a canvas and throw it on it...

Actually, no, not really. I prefer my cooking.

Now Raymond can cook the lobster.

First, he puts the claws in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees.

Next, he grills the tail.

Oh, that's it, that's OK.

A frying pan could be used.

And the lobster is ready to be served.

Caviar-and-yoghurt-topped new potatoes are surrounded

by a drizzle of curry oil

and splashes of the aromatic red-pepper jus.

And what you do is take it from the tail, beautiful.

Some crispy potato skins for texture and, to finish, herbs.

Then these wonderful baby chives.

This dish is not only colourful, it is fresh, it's clean,

it's got amazing super-force layers of flavours,

anything that the lobster already should be.

The promise is kept. It's honest.

Raymond has invited sous chef Larry to taste.

-OK, Larry. What do you think of it?

-It's beautiful, Chef.

Lobster's perfectly cooked.

The spices are coming through. It's really delicate.

Nice texture as well, nice texture.

Probably that little dish is really a lovely expression.

It's beautiful, fantastic, vibrant colours, great flavours inside, fresh and clean.

That's a great dish to woo your loved one. There's no doubt.

She will break, she will crack, she will say, "Yes, yes, yes."

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