Crustaceans, Shellfish, and Crêpes Soufflées

In each edition of our Journal, we bring you a selection of cooking recipes. Our aim? To provide you with ideas on how to combine and enhance the world of aromas and flavours. In this article, we’ll be putting your breath under pressure, until, behind a cloud of steam, delicious hot dishes and airy desserts appear.

Savoury or sweet? Steamed or soufflé? Why choose! Have the main course and the dessert, travelling from the Domaine de Long Dai kitchens, in the Shandong province of China, to those of Château Lafite Rothschild in the Médoc.

To start?

Long Dai seafood-stuffed dumplings (Tàng Miàn Bao 烫面包)

Darren, our chef at Domaine de Long Dai, was born in Yantai, a Chinese city located on the Shandong peninsula. « Dumplings are one of my region’s signature dishes, they were the first recipe I thought of. My colleagues love it when I make them! »

His recipe for making dumpling :

Ingredients for the dough:

• 500g T55 wheat flour – or any white flour you like
• 250ml hot water
• 250ml cold water

Instructions:

• In a large bowl, mix the flour with the hot water – it doesn’t need to be boiling – then gradually add the cold water until you obtain an even dough.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes – then let it rest, covered with a clean kitchen towel, for 20 minutes.
• Divide the dough into equal portions, then flatten each portion into a circle about fifteen cm across.

Now that the dough is ready, you can prepare the stuffing. There are many variations, with meat or vegetables… We propose this one, with its taste of the sea…

Ingredients for the stuffing:

– 3 to 4 scallops per person, peeled and with their coral intact (and/or 200 grams of pink shrimp, or crab meat, per person)

– Flat-leaf parsley, coriander and seasonal herbs

– The juice of a whole lemon

• Prepare a steamer basket by lining it with lettuce leaves or perforated baking paper to prevent the seafood from sticking. If you don’t have a woven wooden steam basket, a stainless steel colander will be just fine!
• Season the seafood with salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice. We opted for a mixture of coriander and flat-leaf parsley.
• Arrange the seafood in the steamer without overlapping. Bear in mind the following cooking times, remembering to taste at the end of the process:
• Scallops: 15 minutes
• Prawns: 7-8 minutes
• Crab: 10 minutes
• Once cooked, chop your shellfish and/or crustaceans finely. Add the lemon juice, a little fresh herbs and mix.
• Arrange a small amount of your filling (in portions of equal size) in the center of your dough circles.
• Gather the edges of the dough around the filling, pinching them firmly to seal. Make sure the stuffing is completely covered.
• Place the dumpling in your steamer and cook for 8 minutes.

A  glass of Chablis from William Fèvre’s estate would be a delicious accompaniment to your dumpling, its notes of fresh lemon delightfully enhancing the seafood flavour!

And for dessert ?

Lafite’s crêpes soufflées!

Jean-Michel Lafarge has been the chef de cuisine at Château Lafite Rothschild since 2018. He’s worked in the kitchen since his apprenticeship… in 1973. When he first arrived he learned this recipe for soufflé pancakes. Perfected over the years, he agreed, as a part of his handover before his retirement next year, to reveal the secret. 

To be enjoyed, without moderation, by six guests with hearty appetites.

A word from the chef:

In your basket:

Ingredients for the pancake batter

• 200g of type 45 flour
• 60g of icing sugar
• ½ liter of whole milk
• 2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 80g of browned butter – this is melted butter that is browned in the pan so that it changes to a coppery tint and a slight hazelnut taste without being burnt. 
• 15 cl of Grand Marnier

Ingredients for the crème pâtissière

• ½ liter of whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 200g of caster sugar
• 40g of flour
• 35 g of cornstarch
• 2 egg yolks
• 8 egg whites
• 5cl of Grand Marnier liqueur
• 1 pinch of fine salt

Ingredients for the sauce:

• A reduction of orange juice: 1 litre of orange juice cooked over low heat for an hour reduced to around 50 grams of sauce. Take it off the heat to add 10 centilitres of Grand Marnier – this will help preserve the aroma. 

Method:

Crêpe batter:

• Mix the flour, icing sugar and milk. Then add the whole eggs and the yolks.
• Add the browned butter, brought down to around 80 degrees.
• When the mixture is almost cold, add the Grand Marnier.
• Leave to sit for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.

Cooking the crêpes:

• Use a pan that is 27 cm across, lightly greased – this is an important detail because the addition of Grand Marnier makes our crêpe mix stickier than usual
• Pour approximately 50g of batter per crêpe into the pan
• Cook each crêpe for about 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, no more, to avoid browning them too much.

Crème pâtissière:

• Heat the milk. Beat the eggs with the sugar, then add the flour and cornstarch.
• Pour in the hot milk, return to the pan and cook until thickened, stirring for 3 minutes.
• Leave to rest for 20 minutes, covered, to prevent a crust from forming.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff with a pinch of salt.
• Gently incorporate the egg yolks and the Grand Marnier, then mix into the cream.

To Finish:

• Preheat the oven to 250°C.
• Spread one half of each crêpe with the cream, fold them in half, and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Cook for between 2 – 4 minutes until the soufflé sets.

To serve:

• Serve the crêpes soufflé with the orange juice reduction and sprinkle them with icing sugar.

Try it with?

Jean-Michel suggests you open an old bottle of Château Rieussec. Its creaminess, its aroma of gingerbread, honey and dried fruit, undoubtedly make it a highly eligible candidate for a successful marriage.