Locanda De Gusti chef picks two seafood recipes for you to try

Award-winning head chef Rosario Sartore from traditional Italian restaurant Locanda De Gusti, on Broughton Street, Edinburgh, has this week put together two special seafood recipes for adventurous readers to try out at home:

Zuppa di fave, zucca, pomodorini e cozze

(broad beans and butternut squash soup with fresh mussels). Serves 4

Ingredients :

1 kilo butternut squash (peeled and diced)

250g broad beans

2 potatoes (diced)

1 shallot (diced)

250g misto corto (short mixed pasta)

1 kilo fresh mussels (cleaned)

250g cherry tomatoes on the vine

Salt and pepper to season

Flat leaf parsley

Olive oil

2 1/2 pints of vegetable stock

1 extra pint of vegetable stock

Method:

Get a large pot and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat the oil a little, then add the shallot, potato, butternut squash and broad beans to the pot.

Stir and let it heat through for a few minutes.

Now add the 2 1/2 pints of vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper.

Allow it to cook on a gentle heat for about 2 hours. Once done add the other pint of vegetable stock.

Bring to the boil and stir in the pasta and let it cook on a moderate heat stirring occasionally for about 8-10 minutes.

Add the fresh mussels, cover with a lid and let the mixture cook for a further 3 minutes until the mussel shells have opened. Be sure to throw away any mussel shells that have remained closed.

When you have put the short mixed pasta into the pot, place the cherry tomatoes into the oven along with a drizzle of olive oil on moderate heat.

Once ready, put the soup into a bowl, decorate with the oven-baked tomatoes, a sprinkle of flat leaf parsley and a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.

Astice al forno con Timballo di verdure

(oven-baked lobster with a timbale of vegetables). Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 fresh Scottish lobsters (live)

1 green pepper de-seeded and sliced

1 red pepper de-seeded and sliced

1 yellow pepper de-seeded and sliced

1 aubergine sliced

1 courgette sliced

150g Kalamata olives

Flat leaf parsley

1 garlic clove

Pesto infused olive oil

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to season

White wine

Method

Put olive oil and garlic clove into a large pan.

Heat gently and add in all of the sliced vegetables.

Stir and cook on a moderate heat for at least 
4 minutes. Add olives. Take the lobsters and cut in half – if you are unsure about doing that, ask the fishmonger to do it for you.

Put the lobsters on to a baking tray and season with salt and pepper, olive oil and a dash of white wine, and cook in the oven for 10 minutes at gas mark 5 or 190 degrees.

If you are not sure of the timings, then just watch out for the lobster changing colour – when it is all pink it means it’s ready. On a baking tray, put four ring moulds and fill them up with the pan-cooked vegetables.

Place into the oven at the same time as the lobster. Once ready, place the lobster onto a large plate, gently put out the mould rings, lift gently, drizzle with the pesto infused olive oil and then finish off it all with just a sprinkle of flat leaf parsley.