Claws for celebration: Mark Hix cooks up a feast of Mediterranean seafood dishes

A trip to the Costa Brava region of Spain provides culinary inspiration

In my early days at Le Caprice, some 16 or so years ago, my menu often reflected influences from the Costa Brava region of Spain. The reason was simple: I had become familiar with the area through visiting an old girlfriend whose parents had moved there – and I was amazed to discover a temple of gastronomy. I still have fond memories of baked trays of snails that consisted of 100 or so shells (not a meagre half-dozen), served sizzling on square cast-iron trays.

Other memorable dishes included rabbit cooked with snails, very simple escalivada (grilled vegetables), black rice, razor clams and grilled fish a la plancha. For me these were very simple inspiring dishes of the region that relied on pure ingredients and no added extras.

A few weeks ago, I decided to revisit the region with my partner Clare, staying in a different hotel each night – and two of them were really worth a mention. Firstly, Mas Falgarona near Figueres, a lovely boutique hotel run by Brigitta Schmidt and Severino Jallas Gandara, which served an interesting menu combining Mediterranean influences with international references. The hotel's reception area was full of cookbooks from around the world, just in case guests found themselves lacking in inspiration.

Then there was Castell d'Emporda in la Bisbal, another hit hotel. It reminded me of Babington House – and the simple, unpretentious food showed how far Spanish food has moved in the past few years; in this year's Best Restaurant Awards there were four Spanish establishments in the top 20.

As well as trying out some new places to eat, we also checked out a couple of my favourites from the old days – but two of them had fallen by the wayside; one had closed down and the other, stripped of its rotisserie, had become posh and not very good. Sometimes when you're abroad, it's a wise move to go off-piste and discover new eateries, although after the first couple of meals I began to doubt my instincts. We had to put up with what may have been a rather unpleasant new trend in two restaurants in a row – serving bacalao (salt cod) raw. As you probably know, I don't mind eating a bit of raw fish straight out of the water, but re-hydrated salt cod was going a bit too far. A mound of sliced tomatoes topped with cucumber and then hard-boiled egg, topped with sashimi of bacalao with a garnish of flavourless lollo rosso didn't hit the spot at all.

We did manage to progress somewhat when we called our old friend Pat Beckett back in England who once lived in the area for a few months of the year. We were stranded in Palamos and Pat recommended La Gamba on the sea front. That was much more like it – delicious simply grilled razor clams, deep-fried sea anenomes with onions; meatballs with cuttlefish; and cod's tripe. I eyed up the lobster with chick peas but we had already ordered quite enough for a light lunch, so sadly I had to give it a miss.

Spider crab paella

Serves 2-4

We ordered this dish after one of our unfortunate bacalao experiences. Though it was served traditionally in a black pan, it sadly didn't use some of the best bits of the spider crab, ie. the body. I'm not sure what they did with it (maybe it went into the stock), but while I was eating it I was conjuring up a modified version in my head – and here it is. If you can't get a spider crab from your fishmonger, a normal brown crab will do.

1 live spider crab, weighing about 1.5kg
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 red pepper, halved, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
A good pinch of saffron strands
4tbsp olive oil
500g paella rice

For the stock

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium leek, roughly chopped and washed
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
The main shell from the spider crab (see method)
2tbsp vegetable or olive oil
10 black peppercorns
2tsp tomato puree
100-120ml white wine
2 litres fish stock

Place the spider crab in a pan of well-salted water and bring it to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, remove the crab and allow to cool. Remove the outer shell from the crab, scoop out any brown meat and reserve it and then smash up the shell with a hammer or rolling pin.

To make the stock, gently cook the onion, leek and garlic in the oil for 2-3 minutes, add the crab shell and peppercorns and continue cooking on a high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato purée, wine and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for an hour, skimming every so often. Strain through a fine meshed sieve.

Remove the grey gills, or dead man's fingers, from the crab's body and discard. With a heavy chopping knife cut the body of the crab into four quarters, leaving the legs attached.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 5.

In a paella pan or a cast-iron double-handled frying pan suitable for the oven, heat the oil on the stove and gently cook the onion, pepper, garlic and saffron in the olive oil, covered with a lid for 4-5 minutes until soft, stirring every so often. Add the rice and stir over the heat for a minute or so. Add half the stock and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring every so often, then add most of the rest of the stock and season, bring to the boil and place the crab in the middle of the pan with the legs spread evenly around the pan.

Place in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the rice is cooked. The rice should still be quite moist, with a risotto-like consistency; if not, carefully stir in the rest of the stock.

Serve with shellfish crackers, crab picks and a finger bowl.

Lobster with broad beans

Serves 2-4

I saw a similar dish to this on the menu at another restaurant in Spain, but as it's summer I thought the broad bean option seemed more appropriate. As the broad beans tend to end up being quite well-cooked in this dish it's perfectly acceptable to use frozen; in fact I find that frozen ones often yield better results.

1 lobster weighing about 600-700g
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
4tbsp olive oil
A good pinch of saffron
350-400ml fish stock
600-700g podded weight of broad beans
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and plunge the lobster into the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.

Gently cook the onion and garlic in 3tbsp of the olive oil for 2-3 minutes, then add the saffron, stock and broad beans and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the head from the lobster and give the claws a crack with the back of a heavy knife. Cut the body into 4 or 5 pieces through the shell into rounds.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan that will fit in the oven, season the pieces of lobster tail and quickly sauté them on both sides for a minute or so until they have a golden colour. Add the head and pour in the broad bean mixture. Cover and cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.

The liquid should have more or less evaporated and formed a sauce coating the beans; if not, place it on the stove on a medium heat and cook for a further couple of minutes. Serve immediately.

Meatballs with cuttlefish

Serves 4

This was one of the dishes that I couldn't resist ordering at La Gamba restaurant in Palamos. I love the way that they mix meat and fish in that part of Spain, and if it's not meat and fish,it's usually rabbit and snails. This dish was a little taster and what made me like it even more was that it contained one of my favourite Spanish delicacies, salt cod tripe, which has the most wonderful gelatinous texture. It can be very tricky to get your hands on, so don't worry if you can't get hold of it; it's perfectly OK to just use meatballs and cuttlefish.

1 cuttlefish weighing about 500g, cleaned and washed
2tbsp olive oil
100ml red wine
300ml chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour for dusting

For the meatballs

250g fatty minced pork
1 small onion, peeled and very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp chopped fennel or dill
50g fresh white breadcrumbs

First, make the meatballs. Gently cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes until soft, then leave to cool. Mix the onion mixture with the pork, fennel and breadcrumbs and season. Mould into ball about the size of a 10-pence piece then leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Cut the cuttlefish into rough 2cm squares and chop up the tentacles. Season and fry in the olive oil on a high heat for 2-3 minutes until lightly coloured. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and then add a little more oil to the pan. Dust the meatballs with flour and fry on a high heat for a couple of minutes until lightly coloured.

Wipe the pan, add the red wine and simmer for a couple of minutes until it has almost evaporated, then add the meatballs, cuttlefish and stock. Simmer on a low heat with a lid on for 30-40 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add a little water if the sauce is reducing too much.