Mark Hix recipe: Shell shot

Serves 6-8

Mark's shell shot can be made with lobster, prawn or crab shells (Jason Lowe)

I've done recipes for bull shot with beef stock and duck shot with wild duck stock – I just hate throwing bones and carcasses away. This is a fishy version with lobster shells, or you could use prawn or crab shells. Once you have made the stock, freeze it down in useable quantities to take out on a shoot, fishing or a country walk, then simply add the vodka and other ingredients when you heat the broth.

For the broth

The shells from one or two lobsters, or prawn shells, chopped and rinsed under the cold tap
2ltrs fish stock
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, halved
1 small leek, roughly chopped and washed
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
½tbsp tomato purée
1 bay leaf
A couple of sprigs of thyme
2tbsp fennel seeds
1tsp black peppercorns

To serve

½tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco to taste
A couple of good pinches of celery salt
100-200ml vodka, depending on the occasion

Put all of the ingredients for the broth in a saucepan, bring to the boil, skim and simmer very gently for 45 minutes.

train the broth through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean saucepan, then season to taste.

Add all of the serving ingredients to taste, bring back to the boil and pour into a vacuum flask.