By Cromars in St Andrews

CROMARS is famous for its fish and chips. The cafe at the chip shop also serves up daily specials alongside its classic chargrilled burgers and other specialities. The homemade sauces are well known.

A member of Food from Fife, Cromars uses only the finest and freshest local Scottish ingredients with fish from Peterhead, langoustines from St Monans and vegetables from Fife and East Lothian.

Situated in St Andrews, Cromars has previously been recognised as number one in Scotland at the National Fish and Chip Awards.

For more information visit www.cromars.co.uk

Ingredients (Serves 4)

15-20 langoustine or prawn tails

Vegetable or sunflower oil for frying

140g plain flour

85g cornflour

150ml beer

100ml sparkling water

Lemon wedges and chips (to serve)

For the tartare sauce

6 tbsp mayonnaise

1 gherkin (finely chopped)

1tbsp caper (rinsed and chopped)

1tsp lemon juice

1tbsp parsley (chopped)

2 tsp tarragon (chopped)

Method

1 To prepare the langoustines, pull off the head and pincers. Lay the tail flat on a chopping board and use a sharp pair of scissors to cut a line straight down the back of the shell. Carefully peel the langoustine, score down the back, then remove the grit sac.

2 Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok – you will need enough to come 2-3inches up the side of the pan.

3 For the tartare sauce, mix all ingredients in a bowl and season.

4 Place the flour in a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the beer (not chilled) and sparkling water, and whisk to a smooth batter.

5 To test if the oil is hot enough, put a drop of batter into the pan – it should crisp and brown within 30 secs.

6 Dip each langoustine or prawn tail into the batter, then carefully drop it into the oil. Drizzle a little extra batter over each one while they are cooking – this will give you a really crispy coating.

7 Cook them in batches, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan. When golden and floating to the surface, scoop out and drain well on kitchen paper.

8 Sprinkle the scampi with salt and serve with the tartare sauce, lemon wedges and chips.

In association with Taste Communications.

www.tastecommunications.co.uk