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BAKED AVOCADO WITH SHRIMPS, PRAWNS, OR CRAB

Here is the most successful way of serving avocados hot. The flavour is not lost in the brief cooking and blends deliciously with the shellfish and cheese sauce.

Serves 6

3 large avocados

lemon juice

300 ml (10 fl oz) thick béchamel sauce*

2 heaped tablespoons grated Cheddar

1 heaped tablespoon grated Parmesan

3 tablespoons double cream

175 g (6 oz) peeled shrimps or prawns or crab meat

salt, pepper

breadcrumbs, melted butter

Halve the avocados and remove the stones. Enlarge the cavities, but leave a good firm shell behind. Cube the avocado you have cut away. Sprinkle it with lemon juice, and brush more lemon juice over the avocado halves, to prevent discoloration.

Heat two-thirds of the sauce, which should be very thick indeed as it is a binding sauce. Keep it well below boiling point. Leave the pan on the stove while you stir in the cheeses, gradually, to taste. The flavour should be lively, but not too strong. Mix in the cream and shellfish, with seasoning, and the avocado cubes. If the mixture is very solid, add the remaining sauce. You need to strike a balance between firmness and sloppiness; in the final baking the sauce should not run about all over the place, but keep the shellfish and avocado cubes nicely positioned.

Put the avocado halves into a baking dish. Divide the stuffing between the cavities, mounding it up. Scatter on the breadcrumbs and pour a little butter over them. Bake for 15 minutes at gas 6, 200°C (400°F) and complete the browning under the grill if necessary. Do not keep the avocados in the oven any longer than this, as they do not improve with prolonged heating.

BAKED GIANT PRAWNS (Camarão no forno)

A bonus from writing about food is that it is an easy way of making friends. Last summer I took a cab in Paris and soon discovered that the driver was Portuguese. I asked her what dishes made her feel homesick. We were still talking – or rather she was still talking – when I arrived at my destination, and she would not let me go until she made sure I understood how to make this recipe.

‘I make this dish, Madame, when we have something to celebrate. Or just when I want to think about home. Sometimes I can only afford one prawn each, but the oil is so good, Madame, that nobody minds!’ Back at home, I made it with the huge prawns now on sale at good fishmongers: I thought it the best thing I had eaten for months. The oil is indeed delicious, so provide plenty of bread.

For each person

2–3 huge prawns (the Mediterranean type)

1 tiny red chilli

1 small clove juicy garlic, sliced

olive oil

salt, pepper

1 ramekin about 10 × 2½ cm (4 × 1 inches) deep

Set the oven at very hot, gas 8, 230°C (450°F). Fit the prawns – you need to push them into place – into each ramekin. Tuck in the chilli and the garlic. Pour over oil to come level with the top of the prawns. Sprinkle with plenty of salt. You can leave them to marinade for several hours in the refrigerator, if this suits you.

Stand the ramekins on a baking sheet and put them into the heated oven for 10 minutes. After this time the oil should be boiling ferociously, and the top of the prawn shells lightly browned. Let the dishes stand for a minute or two, then serve with plenty of bread to mop up the oil. A mixture of wheatmeal and strong plain white flour gives a good loaf for this kind of food. Put finger bowls on the table as well.

NOTE Do not let anyone swallow the chilli, unless they have leather throats. The garlic can be eaten, and serve sprigs of parsley afterwards if people are worried about breathing over their neighbours.

CURRIED PRAWNS

Serves 6

750 g (1½ lb) prawns

1 large onion, chopped

60 g (2 oz) butter

1 heaped teaspoon curry powder

1 rounded tablespoon plain flour

300 ml (10 fl oz) fish stock*

150 ml (5fl oz) double cream

salt, pepper

Shell the prawns (use the