There is no doubt; the Queen of all seafood at the coast is the grey shrimp. When peeled, they are less than an inch long and they have a grayish-pink color. Their taste is more outspoken than that of the traditional larger pink shrimp and you will only find them in the North Sea.

And the Queen of all seaside resorts is Ostend. In the 19th-century Ostend was a royal vacation spot and prestigious European watering hole today the lively city is very much a people’s Queen welcoming all. Great beaches, a casino, a racetrack, art museums, a spa, good shopping, an Olympic-size indoor pool, outdoor pools filled with heated seawater, sailing and windsurfing, and, last but by no means least, a legitimate reputation of being a seafood cornucopia.

The natural color of the North Sea shrimps (Cragnon-cragnon) varies from dark grey to almost black. They are cooked directly after they have been caught. The fishermen on the boat heat up large kettles of sea water in which the shrimps are boiled for a few minutes until they turn grayish-pink.

However in the villages around Koksijde, shrimp are still caught the traditional way: by men on horseback! When the tide is out, men put on their bright yellow oilskins and high boots and mount their robust Flemish horses. They lead them into the shallow waves, dragging two nets behind the horse, thus scraping up the shrimp that live in and on the sandy seabed. The catch is stocked in two wicker baskets that hang on each side of the horse. The fishing goes on for 2 to 3 hours, until the tide turns.

Recipe for grey shrimp stuffed in tomatoes

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter; serves 2 as a main course

4 tomatoes

¾ lb (350 g) peeled shrimp

4 tbsp mayonnaise

juice from ¼ lemon

4 sprigs of parsley

salt, pepper

Preparation: Remove the parsley leaves from the stems and chop it finely. Cut off the tops off the tomatoes with a knife so that they can act as little lids. Save these little tomato lids for later as a decoration. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes, trying to remove the most flesh possible. Flip the scooped-out tomatoes upside-down and let them drain for 15 minutes.

Preparing the stuffing: Put the lemon juice and mayonnaise in a bowl. Add the parsley and mix well. Add the shrimp and mix again, Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Stuff the insides of the scooped-out tomatoes generously with the shrimp. Put the little lid back on and serve chilled.