Atlantic surf and turf with ice wine sauce

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This surf and turf recipe is an ode to Karen's travels in Canada, where abundant seafood is often found alongside the country's fantastic farm produce.

First published in 2016

When I was in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia a couple of years ago, I was overwhelmed with the quality and abundance of fresh seafood, namely lobsters, scallops and prawns, in particular beautiful plump spot prawns. I have to admit to being a bit of a shellfish glutton, and enjoyed what the provinces has to offer from the seas in nearly every meal.

As well as delicious seafood, I was also lucky enough to eat some wonderful Canadian beef too, with locally grown vegetables – although Canadian food is hard to define, I would say that its style is very much along the lines of the 'Farm to Table' movement, with provenance and locally sourced seasonal produce being at the fore of modern Canadian cuisine.

With that in mind, this recipe shows off Canada as a hotspot for travelling (and non-travelling!) foodies. It's a classic dish of surf and turf, but brought right up to date with a few tasty twists. I used cold water king prawns, as the beautiful Canadian spot prawns that inspired this recipe can be tricky to source in the UK. The prawns are given the tempura treatment, served with a broiled filet mignon and a sauce of berries with Canadian ice wine.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Filet mignon and prawns

  • 2 fillet steaks, each weighing 150-175g
  • butter, for frying
  • 6 king prawns, (cold water), large, shelled and deveined. Use spot prawns if you can get your hands on them

Tempura batter

  • 80g of cornflour
  • 100ml of beer
  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Ice wine and berry sauce

  • 150g of mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (fresh or frozen depending on the season)
  • 50g of caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp of arrowroot, mixed with 1 tbsp ice wine
  • 125ml of ice wine

Method

1
To begin, make the sauce. Add the berries and sugar to a pan and bring to a gentle boil. Turn the heat down and add the arrowroot mixture and the ice wine – stir until slightly thickened. Set to one side until needed
2
Preheat a deep-fryer to 180°C to cook the prawns
3
Make the tempura batter by beating the beer into the cornflour and adjusting the consistency – the batter should be slightly thicker than single cream
4
Melt the butter in a large ovenproof pan and add the steaks. Place them under a hot grill and keep basting them with the butter until cooked to your liking, turning them over halfway through cooking
5
Whilst the steaks are cooking, dip the prawns into the batter. Add to the hot oil and fry until golden, crispy and cooked through. Remove the prawns with a slotted spoon and drain on paper. Keep warm if necessary
6
Place the cooked steaks onto warm plates, sit the prawns on top of the and serve with the reheated berry and ice wine sauce, along with your choice of seasonal vegetables and a scattering of chives
First published in 2016

Karen Burns-Booth is a freelance food & travel writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a passion for local, seasonal ingredients.

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