Luxe Leftovers

I'm a real pushover at the wet market. In most other aspects of my life, mine is a take-no-prisoners attitude. Yet in the face of the wellington boot-clad fishmonger, I turn into a wuss and take whatever he throws at me (thank goodness it's always fresh). We had two friends over for dinner last week, during which I served an Italian zuppa de mare. All I needed were 10 prawns, two handfuls of mussels, and four crayfish, but because he sells seafood by the kilogram, the fishmonger decided that he would round my stash off to the nearest 500 grams. Moments later, I was walking back to my car with far more seafood than I needed, kicking myself for not being more assertive.

So what to do when faced with extra crayfish, prawns and crabmeat? I fried it up with some leftover mushrooms, a bit of cream, paprika, white wine and saffron and served it on a thick slice of garlic toast. What a wonderfully luxe yet simple dinner it turned out to be. 'Seems being a pushover every now and then has its merits after all!