This week we are visiting the Seychelles where guests can island hop from one paradise to another. We start at Constance Ephelia on Mahé – the island with 70 beaches, mysterious mangroves and a spectacular coral reef – before moving on to Praslin , which shelters the Vallée de Mai world heritage site and where the luxurious Constance Lemuria is nestled amidst sumptuous vegetation

With more than 40 years’ experience of working abroad, Gilbert Negro, the French Executive Chef at Constance Ephelia enjoys mixing culinary traditions with his brigade of different nationalities. Today, he has decided to revisit the classic ‘’Avocado with shrimp’’’ creating a hot and spicy version: ‘’Roast shrimp, avocado tartare with orange ‘.To be relished with your eyes closed, imagining your feet in the sand and looking at the sea! The hotel’s sommelier suggests that you accompany this dish with a small glass of champagne.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Shrimp and marinade:

12 shrimp (size 16/20)

1 white onion

2 cloves of garlic

10 g ginger

2 lemons

1 bunch of coriander

Salt/pepper

Shell the shrimp, retaining the end of the tail. Keep heads for the sauce. Remove the guts. Rinse them under a stream of cold water, drain them and put them onto a small plate. For the marinade, peel and chop the onion and squeeze the cloves of garlic and ginger. Add the crushed coriander and the lemon juice. Season it all. When everything is well mixed, add the shrimp tails and marinate it for one hour.

The tartar avocado with orange:

2 ripe avocados

2 limes

2 oranges

Salt/pepper

Peel the avocados and cut them into small cubes. Add the lemon juice to prevent oxidation, and then season it. Zest the oranges and peel them into segments. Keep the juice. Add some zest to the avocado tartar and to the diced segments. Mix it all together and set it aside.

The light curry sauce:

Olive oil: as required

1 carrot

1/2 celery stalk

1 clove of garlic

2 g curry powder

1 tomato

Orange juice

Butter: as required

Brown the shrimp heads with a little olive oil in a small bowl. Add the carrot and celery cut into cubes, the crushed garlic, curry powder, and the seeded tomato cut into cubes. Mix well and moisten up with water and any remaining orange juice. Cook gently for about 20 minutes and pass this broth through a cheesecloth strainer. Reduce it by half to spice up the broth and add a knob of butter. Mix it, using a small immersion blender, until you get a light mousse.

Finishing and presentation:

Remove the shrimp from the marinade and let them fry on each side with a drizzle of olive oil for 2 minutes. With a stainless steel rectangular cutter, arrange the avocado tartar in the centre of the plate. Lay out the shrimp tails and finish it all off with a curry sauce mousse.

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