Roast Langoustine with Pisto and Balsamic Lemon Vinaigrette
Langoustine tails arch over the plate. They are anchored by pisto made from peppers, onions, eggplant, and two kinds of squash, scented with thyme. A simple vinaigrette made from balsamic vinegar accents the dish; use the best balsamic you can find. This dish may be made with jumbo shrimp instead of langoustines; if using shrimp, you’ll need to lay them down on their sides in the presentation.
Ingredients
- Pisto
- Eggplant - 2 small, preferably Japanese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- Salt to taste
- Olive Oil - 3 tablespoons
- Red Bell Pepper - 1, peeled, seeded, deribbed, and diced
- Onion - 1 medium, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- Garlic Cloves - 2, minced
- Thyme - 1 sprig
- Yellow Zucchini - 2, small (alt. summer squash)
- Green Zucchini - 2 small
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Langoustines - 6
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Balsamic Sauce
- Good Balsamic Vinegar - 1/4 cup
- Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemon
- Olive Oil - 1/2 cup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Tomato - 1, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice
- Parsley - 2 sprigs, stemmed and minced
Instructions
To prepare the pisto: Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and let stand for 30 minutes to remove the water; drain. Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium saute pan or skillet over medium heat and add the pepper and onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic and thyme. Cook slowly until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a small saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and cook for 1 minute to seal the surfaces, turning frequently; to not color. Lift out with a slotted spoon and put in the pepper mixture. Add the eggplant to the zucchini pan and cook 1 minute. Put the eggplant into the pepper mixture. Season with pepper; the salt from the eggplant should be enough. Set aside.
To prepare the langoustines: Twist the tails off the langoustines. Gently peel off the shell, leaving the tail flippers attached. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in each of two small saute pans and add a langoustine to each; to maintain their curved shape, place them with the broken end in the pan and the tail up the side of the pan, following the curved shape of the saute pan edge. Saute 8 to 10 minutes on the same side, until opaque throughout and deeply colored. Remove from heat.
To make the sauce: Whisk the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice together. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking to emulsify. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato and parsley to the vinaigrette.
To serve: Baste the langoustines with a little of the vinaigrette. Take the thyme sprig out of the pisto. Place a 2-1/2-inch ring mold in toward the top of each plate and fill with pisto. Pack down gently, then remove the molds. Stand a bit of frisée in the top of each. On each plate, position 3 langoustine tails in an arc below the pisto, resting the tails on the flippers and broken ends so that they form arches. Lightly drizzle the plates with vinaigrette.
