Newlyn Spider Crab With Crème Fraîche And Granny Smith Apple Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Granny Smith apple, julienned into matchsticks approx. 3mm thick, to serve
- purslane, to garnish
- 360g of Granny Smith apple, quartered and cored (leave them unpeeled to achieve a vibrant green colour)
- 200ml of water
- 100g of caster sugar
- 50g of lemon juice
- 30g of Calvados
- 100g of crème fraîche
- 1kg raw spider crab claws
- 1/2 lemon, zested, plus 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp soft herbs, ideally chives, dill, chervil, basil, finely chopped
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered and cored, then sliced as finely as possible
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
Method · 1 h 15 min
- Start the sorbet 2 days before you want to serve the dish. Place the quartered apples into a clean freezer bag or container and freeze overnight
- Boil the water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Add the lemon juice and calvados then store in a sealed container until needed
- The next day, transfer the frozen apple to a high-powered blender and blitz to a dry slushy consistency. Add the lemon and calvados syrup and blitz again until fully homogeneous. Transfer to an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions until you have reached a sorbet consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least 7 hours, preferably overnight
- Put the crème fraîche into a sieve lined with a muslin cloth and hang it over a bowl in the fridge for at least 4 hours to allow excess liquid to drain out. This stops the crab meat from getting too wet when mixed together later
- To cook the crab claws, place them in a steamer (or steam oven set to 100% humidity) and cook for 7-12 minutes with the lid on – the cooking time will depend on the size of the claws; small claws will take around 7 minutes, medium-sized claws will take around 10 minutes and large, 12 minutes (alternatively you can boil the claws in water). Once steamed, plunge the claws into a bowl of iced water to cool rapidly. Once the crab claws are cool, remove them from the iced water and pat dry with kitchen paper
- Crack the claws open using a rubber mallet, then pick out the meat with a crab pick (keep the shells to make a wonderful stock) – place half the crab in the fridge whilst you work and try to work quickly
- Once you’ve picked all the meat from the claws, transfer it onto a metal tray and go through it to look for any shell (you should be able to hear it on the metal tray)
- Gently mix the picked crab meat with the crème fraîche, lemon zest and juice, the herbs and a pinch of salt – mixing gently keeps any larger pieces of crab whole. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Set aside in the fridge
- For the Granny Smith purée, combine the apple slices, lemon juice and vanilla seeds in a vacuum bag and spread out into a single flat layer. Vacuum seal then steam in a steamer (or steam oven set to 100% humidity) for about 7 minutes, or until the apples feel soft. Carefully remove the bag to a bowl of iced water to cool
- Remove the apples from the bag, place in a blender and blend to a fine purée. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and set aside in the fridge until needed (it will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge). Alternatively, if you don’t have a vacuum packing machine, you can cook the apples with the lemon juice and vanilla seeds in a saucepan over a medium heat, adding a splash of water if needed, and stirring occasionally, to keep the apples from scorching, then blend as above
- To serve, place a pool of the apple purée into the middle of a plate and spread it out using a spoon. Use 2 spoons to quenelle 50g of the crab salad into the middle. Arrange about 8 matchsticks of apples around the plate then finish with small scoops of the apple sorbet using a small melon baller. Garnish with purslane and serve
1 hour 15 minutes plus 2 days of overnight freezing and at least 4 hours hanging time
Granny Smith apples offer a fantastic accompaniment to spider crab (or Cornish King Crab), as their tart flavour balances the crab’s natural sweetness. Ben Tunnicliffe strains crème fraîche to achieve a better texture and consistency for his lemon and soft herb crab salad, which is paired with a Granny Smith sorbet, purée and matchsticks of fresh apple. The result is a fresh, elegant and vibrant start to any meal. Ben has provided the recipe for how to steam and pick the spider crab claws, but you can use cooked, picked spider crab meat, if you prefer.
When picking spider crab claw meat, work in small batches, keeping what you’re not working with in the fridge, to ensure it doesn’t get too warm.
