Yield: 4 servings
Season: spring

12 Royal langoustines
Salt flakes

Garnishing

• 1.8 ounces lardons
• ½ green pepper
• ½ red pepper
• 4 onions, each cut in two
• ½ pound fresh Basque baby fava beans, shelled and peeled
• 2 pimientos del piquillo, cut into thin strips
• 20 Taggiasche olives (or Nice), thinly sliced
• 2 slices Serrano ham
• ¾ cup chicken stock
• 1 ounce duck fat
• Salt and pepper

Marinade

• ¾ cup olive oil, blended
• 50.18 ounces Espelette red pepper*
• Salt and pepper

Prepare the marinade 24 hours before cooking the dish. Mix the Espelette red pepper (or dried red chile pepper of your choice) with olive oil. One hour before grilling the langoustines cut them into two halves lengthwise. Season each half of the langoustine with salt and pepper, then put them on a plate and pour the blended olive oil on top of them and let marinate.
Grill the green and red pepper skin side up to facilitate peeling. Peel and cut into large strips. In a sauté pan, brown the lardons with a bit of duck fat. Add the onions and the strips of red and green pepper. When everything is well browned, add the fresh fava beans and olive slices. Add some of the chicken stock. Cook, covered for 8 to 10 minutes, adding chicken stock as it evaporates. At the end, add pimientos del piquillo strips and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the langoustines over a wood fire for 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Thinly slice the ham into 8 pieces and brown them in a nonstick pan with no fat. Place the langoustines on four plates. Pour a dash of the marinade oil around them and scatter some salt flakes on top. Place the fava beans in four ramekins, then place two slices of Serrano ham on top. Pour a dash of fava bean juice and a dash of olive oil and scatter some salt flakes in the ramekins.

*Espelette red pepper is mildly spicy chile powder-flakes. It may be substituted with a red chile pepper of your choice, dried and crumbled.