To follow the pattern established on these pages, time has come to create a recipe inspired by my meal at Draga di Lovrana. Although the review wasn’t exactly flattering, a couple of dishes still hit the spot, such as the marinated langoustines with skuta (farmer cheese), lemon emulsion, olive oil, and honey. I’ve decided to produce a version of that dish with only minimal changes, as langoustines don’t need any elaborate preparations to shine. My focus has been on making a rich, tasty lemon sauce, and I opted to marinate the skuta in a blend of olive oil and honey – exactly as I prepared it in my previous post (what a coincidence). Still, considering how ridiculously expensive langoustines are, I wanted to use every bit of them. There’s always the option to use the heads, claws, and shells in a sauce or a bisque for another meal, but why not try to use them in this dish? Enter the langoustine-paprika focaccia, my adaptation of the plain focaccia from Breaking Breads by Uri Scheft, now flavored with langoustine-paprika oil. You’ll want to work on this colorful flatbread last, while the lemon emulsion is cooling and the langoustines are marinating, so you can enjoy it fresh from the oven.

**Marinated Langoustines with Skuta and Lemon Emulsion**

Yields 4 servings
Total preparation: 4 hours (plus 12 hours for the marinated skuta)
Active preparation: 1 hour 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes for the marinated skuta)

Langoustine fabrication

1.4 kg large whole langoustines (8-10 / kg)

Separate the heads and claws from the tails of the langoustines. Carefully peel the tails. Discard the shells and claws, or use them for another recipe (e.g., in a sauce or a bisque).
You should have about 260 g of tail meat and 450 g of langoustine heads. Wrap the meat in plastic film and reserve in the refrigerator. Reserve the heads for the langoustine oil. Use everything the same day.

Langoustine oil

about 450 g langoustine heads
200 g olive oil
3.5 g sweet paprika

Cut the langoustine heads lengthwise and place in a small saucepan. Add the olive oil and paprika, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
Pass the oil through a chinois, pressing on the heads to extract as much langoustine flavor as possible. You should obtain about 140 g of langoustine oil. Reserve in a container in the refrigerator.

Lemon emulsion

100 g whey left over from making skuta, or 90 g water combined with 10 g milk
12 threads saffron, powdered in a mortar
4 g lemon zest
2 g sugar
50 g (about 3) egg yolks
80 g butter
9 g lemon juice
15 g langoustine oil
about 1 g salt

Bring the whey with the saffron, lemon zest, and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan. Let rest for 5 minutes, then pass through a chinois.
In a double boiler over medium heat, combine the whey mixture with the egg yolks. Whisk continuously until the sauce thickens and reaches 85 C / 185 F. Immediately remove from the heat.
Whisk in the butter in a few additions, then add the lemon juice and langoustine oil. Rectify the salt seasoning.
Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, let cool, and refrigerate.