A quick and easy starter which fits perfectly in with this festive season.  Or maybe a last minute starter for your menu?

Ingredients (per person):

• a handful of watercress and cress
• 1 plum tomato, sliced in quarters
• 50gr of mini freshwater crayfish, peeled and cleaned
• 6 – 7 large scampi, peeled and deveined
• Thousand Island sauce, for dressing
• Fresh pepper, for seasoning

Method:

This easy but festive starter takes a little time to prepare.  All the shellfish comes from our local supermarket, and is freshly packed and shipped.  What I usually do, is take the fresh shellfish out of the packaging and place them on kitchen roll. This will absorb all the excess liquid without drying the shellfish out.

Wash the watercress in bowl with water, to ensure it is clean from any debris such as sand.  I used cress and watercress for the base as both give the same slightly spicy, peppery taste. Drain in a strainer to remove excess water.  Wash and quarter the plum tomatoes and set aside.

 

Plating is fairly easy too:  Place a hand full of watercress and cress in the middle of a plate. Place the scampi around  on the bed.  Put the quarters of tomato in between the scampi and put the mini freshwater crayfish on top.

Serve with the thousand island sauce and fresh pepper on top.