This is really a serving suggestion rather than a recipe, requiring very little work, aside from the mayonnaise. But it is a wonderfully simple lunch and really shows off the produce available from a London farmers’ market. The brown shrimp were from David and Silvia Jennings, and are so good they do demand homemade mayonnaise as an accompaniment – anything else couldn’t do them justice. I also think that the combination of English mustard and virgin rapeseed oil in this mayonnaise really complements the shrimps’ flavour. In the summer this is splendid as a picnic and is accompanied perfectly by a glass of Chegworth Valley discovery apple juice or Millwhite’s cider.
Serves 2
Ingredients
115 g peeled brown shrimp; 4 slices really good white bread (I used a London Bloomer from Flour Power); butter (mine was from Hurdlebrook); white pepper; lemon; leaves, such as mustard, to garnish
Mayonnaise: 100 ml neutral oil (e.g. sunflower, ground nut); 50 ml virgin rapeseed oil; 1 egg yolk; ¼ tsp salt; ½ tsp cider vinegar; 1 tsp English mustard
Preparation
To make the mayonnaise, first make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, salt, vinegar and mustard until well combined. Very slowly, a drip at a time, add in the oil, and keep whisking. Once about a third of the oil has been added and a thick emulsion has started to form you can to start to add the oil a bit more quickly and continuously.
Then slice and butter the bread, garnish any plates and help yourself to mayonnaise and shrimps, with a squeeze of lemon juice and a grind of white pepper if you like.
What Matt Ate 