Crayfish with Burre Blanc Sauce

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Thank god Matt loves to fish and dive.

The past few years Matt hasn't been able to find any crayfish in Wellington. With all the cray pots off the coast, they never make it up to a depth which he can get (especially being a free diver, not scuba).

But today Matt and a few of his boys headed around to the Makara coast, and it proved worth the effort. I can say that, because there was little or no effort from me. I only had to deal with him waking me up far too early on a Sunday morning while he got ready to head out.

I've never had crayfish with burre blanc before. Everyone raves about serving crayfish with a simple garlic butter, and I totally agree that it's awesome. But thinking about it, burre blanc is gentle, rich, and flavoursome in all the same ways, and something a little different. I didn't drown it in the sauce - you just want a couple of tablespoons each to dress the cray.

Crayfish with Burre Blanc (for two awesome people)

1 awesomely tasty crayfish (preferably caught by a handsome boyfriend that morning)
35g butter
1/4 c cream
Splash of white wine
Juice of half a lemon
A few sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
25g butter
1 clove garlic,smashed
Salt and pepper to taste
Asparagus and simple salad to serve

Get a massive pot of water boiling and heat up the bbq to a medium heat. You'll want one big enough to completely cover the crayfish with water.

If your cray is still alive, kill it humanely please.

Then pop the crayfish in the water, and boil for about 5 minutes (this will depend on the size of the crayfish, but you still want it to be a little raw in the middle). 

Cut the crayfish down the middle with a sharp knife, and clean out the icky bits.

Melt the 35g butter in a pan, add the cream, white wine, and lemon, and bring to a simmer. Add the thyme and bay leaf, and let simmer for a few minutes to reduce.

Meanwhile, duck outside to the bbq, melt the 35g butter on the hotplate, add the garlic, and give a few seconds until it smells of garlicky goodness. Place the cray on the hot plate (and the asparagus too if you're serving it), turn the heat down to low, and let it sear off for a few minutes.

Run back inside and check your burre blanc. Pull off the heat.

Run back outside, bring the cray and off the heat and pop into bowls. Turn the asparagus. and let it brown on the other side. Pop on the plate with the crayfish.

Top up with a simple salad, and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of burre blanc over each crayfish half to finish.