Langostinos!

I grew up in Massachusetts, which has a fair number of Portuguese Americans in residence. Growing up I remember enjoying Portuguese foods such as linquica which is a type of pork sausage, Portuguese sweet bread which is a yummy and yeasty bread, and langostinos.

If you have never had langostinos, the best I can do when describing them is to tell you that they are kind of like shrimp, but have more of a sweet lobster taste and they are certainly more delicate and lighter in texture than shrimp. The tail meat has the look of crawfish tails but is a little more tender and a little more sweet; in a pinch they can substitute for crawfish or shrimp (to my mind nothing can or should be substituted for lobster).

Imagine my surprise when I went to Trader Joe’s and began seeing langostinos in the frozen fish bin. I haven’t seen them around in over 25 years. The weird part is that I remember the excitement my sister and I felt when we knew we were going to be eating them, but I don’t actually remember how they were prepared and served to us.

Trader Joe’s sells them fully cooked and frozen. I tend to like to buy shrimp uncooked because I think the flavor is better. Initially I was disappointed to see the langostinos being sold pre-cooked. A little investigation however made me understand that typically they are cooked and frozen out at sea to preserve their freshness. Like crawfish and lobster they should not be eaten if they were dead when they were cooked.

I do indeed have trouble finding crawfish tails, fresh or frozen, out here in Oregon. I used to sometimes see them being sold frozen in Massachusetts. I actually liked getting them frozen better. They would be sold as “tail meat and fat” and the fat really added flavor when I would make etouffée. Plus, all the work was done for me – no boiling, separating the tail meat, etc. Langostinos were a welcome surprise at the store and we buy them often and keep them on hand in the freezer. Thawing fish is always best when done slowly. Take them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw slowly in the refrigerator. That way the texture of the meat will remain true and not get mushy or watery.

Enjoy the two recipes below that utilize langostinos; you can also use shrimp instead.

Sara




Langostinos Ceviche Style

1 lb of langostino tails fully thawed, rinsed under cold water briefly, and then dried
olive oil
fresh lime juice
fresh cilantro (or perhaps oregano if you dislike cilantro)
1 small shallot very finely diced
2 small and very ripe avocados diced into bite-sized chunks
2-3 plum tomatoes diced
1 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed (unless you like more heat), very finely diced
salt and pepper to taste

This recipe should be made to taste all the way around, but I've provided some amounts as a general guide. I like a 1-3 ratio of acid to oil for a dressing, but sometimes with limes and lemons (vs. vinegars) you can go 2-3 depending on their sweetness. I also love cilantro so I tend to put a lot in, but cilantro seems to be one of those love it or hate it herbs so go light if it isn’t something you love. I can’t imagine leaving it out, but if you do then you could add oregano instead. If you use fresh oregano then you can just toss it in. If you use dried oregano you can hydrate it and pull the flavor out by first adding it to the olive oil. This dish would of course also work with shrimp. You can serve it cocktail style or with some corn chips on the side. You basically throw everything into a bowl, toss it around, and serve it. Simple and delicious.

For parties you can put servings in individual cups and toss in a corn chip or three as edible garnish. A more elegant way of serving them, as an appetizer at a sit down dinner for example, would be to serve them in martini or margarita glasses.




Creole Langostinos

1lb of langostino tails fully thawed, rinsed under cold water briefly, and then dried*
3 tblsp of olive oil
1 small sweet onion diced
½ a small shallot finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced (you could also use red or green for a difference in taste and sweetness)
3 ribs of celery diced
1 jalapeno seeded and very finely diced
1 pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 ½ tsps of dried thyme
1 tsps of dried oregano
1 tblsp paprika
1 tblsp of potato starch
2-3 cups of vegetable stock
1 cup of diced tomatoes with their juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 dried bay leaf
3 scallions chopped
1 healthy handful of fresh cilantro roughly chopped


Heat oil in a large soup or stock pot (medium to medium/high heat). Sauté onion, shallot, bell pepper, celery, and jalapeno until softened. Add cayenne, thyme, oregano, and paprika and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle the mixture with the potato starch and continue cooking, stirring constantly for a minute or two. The mixture will be very dry and will begin to bind a bit. This is similar to making a roux with flour; constantly stir and don’t burn it! Add the vegetable stock. The potato starch has an intense thickening quality so add enough stock that the mixture is a little bit loose, (like a bisque for example). Add the tomatoes with their juice and then add the bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes so the flavors have time to meld and the bay leaf has time to release its flavor. Add the langostinos and continue cooking until they are heated through. Just before serving add the scallions and cilantro. Serve over rice.**


*You can also use shrimp. A more “seafoody” variation would be to buy shrimp with the shells on. Remove the shells and devein the shrimp. Put the shells in a pot and add 2-3 cups of water. Simmer the shells for about 10 minutes and then strain the liquid (i.e. discard the shells). Use this liquid in place of the vegetable stock. In the recipe you will add the uncooked shrimp where you would have added the cooked langostinos and cook until the shrimp are just done. Be careful to not overcook the shrimp because no one likes rubber shrimp!

**Mike is a fan of brown rice. I know it has more nutritional value (or at least it is a more complex carbohydrate than white rice), but I have a big weakness for white rice. The good news is that this recipe really works well with the brown rice. The heartiness of the brown rice makes this dish even more satisfying.