Cooking with Booze

   

Crevettes au Pastis

“How do you know when a Frenchman has been round your house? The bin’s are empty, and the dog’s pregnant.” It was a Frenchman who told me that, and he did so after we’d consumed a large quantity of his family’s home-made pastis. Nothing quite like it for firing the blood.

• 3 tbsp butter
• 450g (1 lb) fresh shrimp, peeled
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 250g (9 oz) double cream
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• 3 tbsp pastis

1. Heat a third of the butter over a high heat, and sauté the shrimp for 2-3 minutes, until just pink. Pour in the pastis and flambé, then remove the shrimp from the pan, leaving the juices. Add the fennel and cook for about ten minutes, until translucent. Add the cream and the pepper, and slowly bring to the boil, reducing the cream slightly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Return the shrimp and heat through, then serve.