LA SANTA SCARLET PRAWN TARTARE WITH BLACK OLIVE ‘PICÓN’ AND MALVASÍA SABAYON
Ingredients (serves 4)
From the sea
• 8 large La Santa carabineros (scarlet prawns), or high-quality red prawns
The volcanic ‘picón’
• 100 g Aragón black olives
• 50 g panko breadcrumbs
The green element
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coriander shoots or sea fennel
The sabayon
• 100 ml dry volcanic Malvasía wine
• 1 egg y • 50 g beurre noisette (brown butter)
Method
For the volcanic ‘picón’, dry the black olives in the oven at 80°C for four hours. Once dehydrated, blend them with the toasted panko (dry-toasted in a pan) until the mixture resembles coarse, black sand. Set aside.
For the tartare, shell the prawns when thoroughly chilled – almost at freezing point – for a cleaner cut. Finely dice the flesh by hand into 5 mm cubes, keeping enough texture for the tartare to retain some bite. Dress with just a few drops of lime juice, Janubio salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
For the Malvasía sabayon, whisk the wine and egg yolk together in a bowl over gentle heat until the mixture foams and doubles in volume. Gradually add the brown butter. The result should be a pale, airy cream.
Plating
Before assembling the dish, prepare the chef’s finishing gourmet touch: extract the juices from the prawn heads, strain them and reduce over the heat until thick and syrupy. Brush this intense reduction across the base of the plate.
For a César Manrique-inspired presentation, use a flat, matte-white ceramic plate. Scatter an asymmetric line of black olive ‘picón’ across the centre. Use two spoons to shape the scarlet prawn tartare into quenelles and place them along the dark ‘volcanic’ surface. Add scattered dots of the Malvasía sabayon, like splashes of whitewash across lava rock and finish with a sprig of sea fennel or vivid green shoots evoking the resilient vegetation that grows between volcanic cracks.
