Shell out
The term ‘shellfish’ is generally used to refer to edible crustaceans and molluscs, covering everything from oysters and winkles to prawns and langoustines. Though cleaning the shells and removing the meat can take a bit of work, cooking shellfish tends to be a quick and easy affair. Its a food that’s been eaten across the globe, particularly in coastal areas, for hundreds of thousands of years.
Shellfish dishes don’t come much fresher than amaebi (spot prawn) sashimi in Japan, or more comforting than Belgium’s steaming bowls of mussels in white wine (ideally with a healthy portion of frites). Head to Singapore for crab stir-fried in a sweet yet savoury chilli sauce, or try it dressed in its shell and accompanied by new potatoes and a dollop of mayonnaise on England’s Norfolk coast. Meanwhile, in the US state of Maine — the country’s seafood capital — you can get gloriously messy with a whole steamed lobster and a pot of sweet, melted butter.
Of course, shellfish isn’t always
