Shrimps Cocktail

Preparation You'll need: If necessary, a small pot for cooking the shrimps A medium bowl
Ingredients (for 2 people, as a full course. As a snack or entrée: halve the ingredients). 400 g small shrimps/deep-sea crabs/North Sea crabs. 4 to 6 slices of toast 75 g mayo 75 g Miracle Whip 90 g ketchup (you could also use 4-5 Tbsp tomato paste) 3 tsp cognac (or 5 tsp German Chantré) A few dashes of Tabasco 1 tsp Worcester sauce 1 large organic lemon A few leaves of iceberg lettuce 1 ripe avocado Salt and white pepper
First steps Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Wash some nice leaves of iceberg lettuce, dry them and cut them into fine strips or pluck them into coarse pieces. Cut off one ⅓ of the lemon, cut 2 thin slices from it (for decoration). Squeeze the other part, set the juice aside. Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Defrost the shrimps if necessary. If pre-cooked, rinse only with cold water and pat dry. If not, cook briefly for a few minutes according to instructions and cool again in cold water.
The sauce In a medium bowl, mix 75 g each of mayo and Miracle Whip, and 90 g ketchup. Then mix in 1 tsp Worcester sauce and a few dashes Tabasco sauce, as well as 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Arrangement First of all, put the toast in the toaster. Toast only until light brown! Traditionally, I see this served in a tall cocktail glass on a bed of lettuce. But since I like the avocado version: Put a few leaves of iceberg lettuce on a plate, place half an avocado on top. Spread the shrimps loosely on top and a few dabs of the sauce. Put the rest in a small glass bowl. Further decoration: thin slice of lemon or (if you have a spare one ;-)) lime, some dill or parsley, if you like. A well chilled sparkling wine or dry white wine (e.g. a Sardinian Aragosta) goes well with this.

Monk Fish with a Lemon Butter Sauce

 Preparation time a little more than 1 hour

Preparation You'll need: Large pan with high rim
Ingredients (for two persons) Monkfish: 450 g (as fillet) to 600 g (with bone) 50 g butter 3 Tbsp good olive oil 3 shallots, small to medium 200 mL fish stock 200 mL white wine, dry approx. 1.5 lemons for 100 mL juice 1 Tbsp. honey 100 g fennel bulb 2-3 generous pinches of saffron Cayenne pepper Salt and pepper Side dish: 300 to 400 g boiled potatoes
The Sauce Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Peel 3 shallots and chop finely. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a good medium heat and melt 50 g butter in it. Then glaze the shallots. Deglaze with 200 mL each of white wine and fish stock. Add 100 mL lemon juice and 1 tbsp honey, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. . In the meantime, cut 100 g of the fennel bulb into not too small pieces and add to the stock after 10 minutes. After a further 5 to 10 minutes, start with the fish, more on that in a moment. Now let the stock simmer (without a lid ;-) until the sauce starts to thicken, which can take half an hour in total. As soon as the sauce starts to thicken, season well with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and put to one side until the fish is ready.
The Fish Wash the fish and pat dry. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Heat a small amount of oil well in a second pan and then sear the fish in it until the surface is lightly to medium brown. Since the fish releases a lot of water, you should take the fish out briefly after 2 or 3 minutes, pour away the liquid, add a small amount of oil again and continue frying the fish. When the fish has the right colour, add a little salt, and if the sauce is not yet thick, set the fish aside for a short time. As soon as the sauce has about the desired consistency, add 2-3 generous pinches of saffron and stir well. Now add the fish pieces and simmer gently for another 5 minutes with the lid on.