Steamed langoustine with seaweed salad and custard of the shell

Make the langoustine oil the day before you plan to serve the dish. Add a splash of the rapeseed oil to a saucepan and the rest of the ingredients (apart from the oils). Cook for a few minutes until fragrant, then add the remaining rapeseed oil and olive oil and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 2 hours, then strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth in the fridge overnight. This will leave you with much more langoustine oil than you need for this dish, but it is an amazing thing to drizzle over other dishes and will keep in the fridge for a few weeks

To make the emulsion, blend the egg yolk, liquid from the grated ginger, garlic, water, vinegar and 50g of the chives together, then blitz in the xanthan gum. With the motor running, gradually drizzle in 200g vegetable oil until emulsified. Fold through the remaining chives and blanched ginger and season to taste. Set aside

To make the jus, place the tomatoes in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and simmer, covered, until they break down and release their liquid. Continue cooking uncovered until they reduce by around 50g, then blitz until completely smooth in a blender. Pass through a fine sieve – you will need 200g of fondue for this recipe

Sear the langoustine shells in a dash of oil until coloured, then lift out half of them and set aside. Add the blitzed tomatoes, wine, cream and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Add the Cognac, the other half of the shells and simmer for another 10 minutes, ensuring the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Pass through a fine sieve (ideally lined with a muslin cloth) and add a pinch of arrowroot to thicken slightly. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste, then set aside

To make the custards, preheat an oven to 120°C. Weigh out 250g of the langoustine jus and blitz with the eggs, cream and milk with a pinch of salt. Divide between 8 bowls, cover in cling film, then place on a deep baking tray filled with hot water. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until just set. Note: if you have a steam oven, simply steam the custards at 90°C

While the custards steam, soak the dried seaweed in the dashi for 5-10 minutes and skewer each langoustine tail with 2 skewers to ensure it doesn’t curl up during cooking

Drain the seaweed from the dashi and mix with the rest of the ingredients for the salad. Set aside

Once just set (but still with plenty of wobble), remove the custards from the oven and set aside. Meanwhile, drizzle the langoustine tails with a little langoustine oil and a pinch of salt, then place in a large bamboo steamer and steam for 2 minutes, or until just cooked

When ready to serve, drizzle some more langoustine oil over the warm custards, then garnish with pickled red onion, samphire, spring onion and edible flowers

Add a spoonful of the ginger and chive emulsion to a separate plate, then top with the seaweed salad. Lightly zest the lime (or yuzu) over each langoustine tail, then place the tails on top of the salad. Serve alongside the custard