Michelin Star Chef Jan Hendrik’s Langoustine Cannelloni Recipe
Michelin-star Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen (Jan Hendrik) agreed to share his recipe for Langoustine Cannelloni with Poached Naartjie Beurre Blanc with Perfectly Provence readers.
Langoustine is the French name for as scampi, the Dublin Bay Prawn, or the Norway Lobster. Not much bigger than a large prawn, langoustine is a white shellfish. In this recipe, the chef combines the fresh seafood with poached citrus, and a finishing touch of beurre blanc. It’s a delicious fusion of Mediterranean meets South Africa.
Journey to the Mediterranean
Cape Town is a world away from almost anywhere. So Jan Hendrik is bringing flavours from his native South Africa to dinner plates at his restaurant in the South of France. Seven years ago, Jan Hendrik settled on the Côte d’Azur, where Nice became is part-time home and the location for Restaurant JAN. Michelin awarded the 24-seat restaurant its first star in 2016, and again in 2017.
Jan Hendrik’s arrival in the South of France was far from a straight line. He credits his baptism in the convivial warmth of kitchens to time spent with his mother and grandmothers at the family farm in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Food and photography featured in his studies. Jan Hendrik has an Advanced Diploma in Culinary Arts, a Masters in pastry. He also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Design with a focus on photography. Work assignments took Jan Hendrik from photographing in the Stellenbosch wine region in South Africa to the ELLE magazine test kitchens in Paris.
Afrikaans meets the Côte d’Azur
The chef’s creative use of South African ingredients influences the menu for Restaurant JAN in Nice. He sources ingredients locally in France, if possible, and imports from South Africa as required. As a nod to the chef’s roots, the restaurant’s website is trilingual – French, English and Afrikaans. The restaurant’s menu has always featured about 60% South African wines. However, recently two JAN Special Cuvées, a red and a white, have made it to the list. These wines blends contain organic grapes grown at the Org de Rac vineyard in Swartland SA.
“JAN white is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Roussanne and Verdelho. The red expresses Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Verdelho. Working in tandem with Org de Rac cellarmaster Frank Meaker, Jan Hendrik was closely involved in creating the various blends.”
This young chef is not resting idly on the fame of his Michelin star. His editorial team in Cape Town produces “JAN The JOURNAL” bi-annually. The glossy magazine is filled with stunning photography, and highlights South African food and wine producers, recipes, and the lifestyle. Discover the blog which includes posts such as “The JAN Guide to Nice” filled with locals’ tips on where to drink coffee, buy wine, and find the best street food.
Image credits: All photos provided by and published with the permission of Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen.
Langoustine Cannelloni with Poached Naartjie Beurre Blanc
Ingredients
For the Cannelloni:
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) Langoustines shelled
- 3 cm (1 in) piece Ginger finely grated
- 1 garlic clove finely grated
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 3 tbsp Yuzu juice or lemon juice
- 2 egg whites
- salt and pepper
- Black Spaghetti
- White Spaghetti
- cooking spray for the noodles
For the Poached Naartjie:
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp white wine
- 2 tbsp Water
- stalks parsley
- 1 star anise
- ½ tsp Salt
- 4 Naartjies peeled and left whole
For the Beurre Blanc:
- 6 tbsp Yuzu Juice or lemon juice
- 6 tbsp Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs
- 2 tbsp onion finely diced
- 180 g (6 oz) butter cubed
- 1 tbsp chives chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Cannelloni:
- Boil the spaghetti separately until al dente.
- Chop the langoustine into roughly 1 cm cubes.
- Take half of the langoustines and add it to a blender. Add the ginger, garlic, chopped parsley, yuzu and one of the egg whites. Blend it until smooth.
- In a bowl, add the pureed langoustine mix with the chopped langoustines, salt and pepper and stir until the pieces are well distributed. Transfer the mix into a piping bag.
- Make a double cling film layer on your work surface and spray with cooking spray.
- Place the spaghetti onto the cling film, alternating with black and white. Lightly press onto the spaghetti lengthways to ensure that it sticks together. You will need a total of 32 strands of spaghetti.
- Brush the spaghetti with the remaining egg white. Pipe the langoustine mix onto the spaghetti, leaving 2/3 space for the spaghetti to wrap around the langoustine mix and then using the cling film, gently lift it so cover the langoustine mix with the spaghetti.
- Roll it into a cylinder and freeze until solid.
- To cook: Preheat the oven to 160 C (320F), slice the langoustine cannelloni’s to about 8 cm (3 inches) pieces and bake for 10-15 minutes.
For the Poached Naartjie:
- Add the wine, water, sugar, parsley stalks, star anise and salt into a pot. Stir it over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove the parsley stalks.
- Add the whole naartjies into the saucepan and poach for 2 minutes on the one side.
- Turn the naartjies and poach the other side for 2 minutes. The liquid should have made a syrupy consistency; make sure to coat the naartjie in the syrup.
For the Beurre Blanc:
- Saute the onions in some butter until they are soft and translucent.
- Add the wine and the yuzu or lemon juice, and let it reduce for about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add a cube of butter at a time will whisking continuously until all of the butter is incorporated and an emulsion has formed.
- Add the chopped chives and season.
To Serve:
- In a pasta dish, add some of the beurre blanc sauce. Place the cannelloni in the centre and place the poached naartjies around the cannelloni
Notes
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