Ingredients

• 16live yabbies
• 2-3 star anise
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 3 slices of each orange, lemon and lime
• 1 large pinch salt

• 8 yabby heads and shells reserved from the blanched yabbies
• 60ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 head garlic, broken some skin removed
• 2 eschalots, peeled and sliced
• ½ carrot, peeled and diced
• ½ bulbfennel, sliced
• ½ stick celery, sliced
• 2 vine ripened tomatoes, cored, deseeded, chopped
• 3 star anise
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon flaked salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 100ml Pernod
• 100ml Noilly Prat vermouth
• 1L homemade fish stock
• 3 stalks fresh coriander, washed
• 6-8 sprigs chervil
• Reduction
• 3 eschalots
• 150ml white wine
• 150mlchampagne vinegar
• 4 white peppercorns
• 3 sprigs tarragon
• 1 bay leaf

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons reduction
• 80-100ml reduced crustacean bisque
• 150g clarified butter
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives
• 1 teaspoon chopped dill
• 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
• Squeeze of lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 4-6 black peppercorns
• 4-6 fennel seeds
• 1-2 Lebanese cucumbers, deseeded cut into diagonal batons

• 100g butter
• Reserved yabby tails and claws
• 3 sprigs thyme
• Radish, thinly sliced, to serve
• Coriander leaves, to serve

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Method

For the Yabbies:

1. Immerse yabbies in an ice slurry for 20 minutes prior to cooking.

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add star anise, coriander seeds, orange, lemon and lime slices and salt.

3. Plunge yabbies into water for 3-4 minutes to blanch and set the meat in the tail.

4. Remove, place onto a tray and refrigerate or freeze cool quickly. Alternatively plunge into a fresh bowl of iced water.

5. Pull yabby heads from tails, flatten tails with palm of hand, peel shells off tails, remove intestinal tract and reserve heads and shells for bisque. Snap off large claws from yabbies and remove claw meat carefully, keeping the form intact. Trim for presentation if necessary and set aside. Refrigerate until required.
For the Bisque:

6. Crush yabby shells into small pieces.

7. Heat a large non stick frying pan over a high heat and add half the oil. Add shells and fry until they begin to take on a light golden brown. Add vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden brown. Add the dry spices. Reduce the heat to medium, add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Increase heat and deglaze pan with alcohols, flame for about 30 seconds, blow out flame.

8. Pour in fish stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Add fresh herbs, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.

9. Strain stock through a fine sieve and discard shells. Pour stock back into pan, place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer and reduce stock slowly until it becomes slightly viscous. Measure 100ml for the bearnaise and set aside.

For the Bearnaise:

10. Blend eschalots in a food processor to a puree. Place puree with wine and vinegar into a medium saucepan.  Add peppercorns, tarragon and bay leaf.  Bring to the boil and reduce by two thirds.  Cool and set aside. Reduction can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.
For the Sauce:

11. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Select a bowl which fits snugly on top.  Into this bowl, place yolks and reduction. Whisk mixture until light and frothy off the heat.  Place over the heat and whisk vigorously and evenly until mixture begins to thicken.  Continue to whisk until mixture ribbons – when you remove the whisk, the mixture should fall gently back on itself like a ribbon. Remove from heat.

12. Whisk in reduced crustacean bisque, then clarified butter gradually in a steady stream. Add a pinch of salt and the chopped herbs. Finish with lemon juice if desired.

For the Pickled Cucumber:

13. Bring sugar, vinegar, coriander seeds, peppercorns and fennel seeds to the boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat, strain over the cucumber batons, steep for 20 minutes.

To Finish:

14. Warm a medium non-stick frying pan, melt butter, add yabbies and thyme and cook until the red colour of the yabbies’ deepens.

15. To serve, spread a little béarnaise on the plate, top with a few yabby tails and claws, a few radish slices, some pickled cucumber and coriander leaves.