Makes 6
Ingredients
- 500g bavette steak, trimmed and ready to cook
- 1 lobster, about 800g to 1kg, uncooked and humanely dispatched
- A small bagful of fresh seaweed such as sugar kelp, optional
- 2 tsp coarsely crushed cumin seeds
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pickled samphire
- 100g marsh samphire
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 2 tsp unrefined sugar
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
For the tortillas
- 250g plain flour
- 50ml sunflower oil
- 110ml water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
To serve
- 4 tbsp sour cream
- A few extra chilli flakes
- A handful of tender mint leaves
Method
Start by making the tortilla dough. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Combine the water and oil and pour this into the flour. Bring everything together to form a dough. Knead for a few minutes until smooth and even, then cover and leave to rest.
Get a good fire going and let it burn down to a bed of glowing embers giving out a steady high heat. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Roll each one out on a lightly floured surface until about 12 to 15cm wide.
Set a small heavy frying pan over the fire. When it’s hot, cook the tortillas one at a time for about 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side, until they puff slightly and take on a few spots of colour. Stack them up and keep warm.
If you’re using seaweed, give it a quick rinse so it isn’t too dry. Wrap the seaweed around the lobster so it surrounds the shell. This helps trap steam when the lobster sits over the fire and encourages it to cook evenly. Place the lobster on the grill and cook, turning regularly, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the shell changes from dark blue to bright orange red.
Meanwhile trickle the steak with the olive oil and sprinkle over the cumin seeds and chilli flakes. Season well with salt and pepper. Lay the steak on the grill over a hot part of the fire and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. You want the outside nicely caramelised while the middle stays juicy, so try not to overcook it. Remove from the heat and leave to rest.
While the steak and lobster are resting, combine the samphire with the vinegar, sugar and chopped coriander.
To serve, split the lobster and remove the tail meat. Crack the claws and pick out the meat there too. Slice the steak across the grain into 1 to 2cm thick slices.
Lay a few strips of steak on each warm tortilla. Add a little lobster meat and a small handful of the pickled samphire. Spoon over some sour cream and finish with a pinch of chilli flakes and a few mint leaves.
