Crab salad tartelette amuse - Fine dining Christmas menu special

Today's the first episode of my Christmas menu special! We start with the amuse. A crab salad tartelette with a crab cream, tarragon and crispy onion So delicious!

The crab salad

First turn the crab around and cover the legs with a towel. Now insert a chef’s knife in the head and press it down to kill it immediately. After that twist the legs and claws from the body. Now bring some water to a boil and season it with salt. Then boil the claws for 5 minutes and after cool it down in ice water. Now boil the legs for 2 minutes and then cool them down as well. Then boil the body for 5 minutes as well. Now take the claws and separate them from the carpus. Then twist of the finger and use the back of a knife to break the claw. Now take out the meat and be sure to remove both swords. Then use the back of a spoon to remove the meat from the carpus. After that take the legs and separate the top from the bottom. Now cut of the closed end. Keep all the trimmings and shells for later. Then take the legs and use a tweezer to press out the meat. Now press the meat to check if there’s any small shell parts in there. Then transfer it into a bowl and keep it covered with plastic foil in your fridge.

The crab cream

	The crab trimmings
2	onions
1 bulb	garlic
200 grams	white wine
100 grams	Pernod
2 liter	water
4 springs	tarragon

30 grams	egg yolk
2 grams	salt
10 grams	mustard
10 grams	lime juice
30 grams	crab reduction
150 grams	neutral oil

Take the body and open it. Then remove the death man’s fingers and chop the body in smaller pieces. After that scoop the intestines from the shell. Add everything to the trimmings. Now take the onions and clean them. Then chop them. Now cut the garlic in half. Then heat up a big pot and add a splash of oil. Now transfer the trimmings into the pot and fry the until they start to color. Then add the chopped onion and garlic. Let this caramelize and then deglaze the pot with the white wine and the Pernod. Let this reduce for 2 minutes and then add the water together with the tarragon. Now let it simmer for 45 minutes. After that drain the broth and be sure to let it drip for at least half an hour so you don’t waist a single drop. Then let it reduce for 90% till it’s super thick and flavorful. Now pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge.

Then transfer the egg yolk into a blender together with the salt, the mustard, the lime juice and the crab reduction. Now mix this for 30 seconds and then add the oil. Let this emulsify. After that transfer it into a piping bag. Now take your crab meat and add a good amount of the crab cream. Also add the zest from a quarter of a lime and some salt. Now mix this and keep it in your fridge till you need it.

The tartelette

80 grams	flour
70 grams	rye flour
10 grams	sugar
3 grams	salt
90 grams	water
15 grams	egg yolk
20 grams	olive oil

First pour the flour onto your worktop together with the rye flour. Now use the back of your bowl to make a well in the middle. Fill it with the sugar, the salt, the water, the egg yolk and the olive oil. Now knead this into a nice ball of dough. Then transfer it into a bowl, cover it with plastic foil and let it rest in your fridge for 2 hours. After that cover your worktop with flour and roll out the dough till it’s a thin sheet. Then cut it with a big round cutter. Now grease your tartelette molds on the outside and place the rounds on top. Cover them with another mold. Repeat this process and then bake them at 160 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes till golden. Then let them cool down and keep them dry and covered for later.

The tarragon gel

20 grams	tarragon leaves
2 grams	salt
2 grams	agar powder
200 grams	water

Transfer the tarragon into a blender and also add the salt, the agar powder and the water. Now blender this till it’s completely smooth and then bring it to a boil in a saucepan for 2 minutes. Then pour it into a bowl and let it directly cool down in your fridge. Now transfer it back into the blender and spin it into a nice & smooth gel. Then put it into a piping bag.

The crispy onion

1	onion
1 tablespoon	flour
2 grams	salt

First clean the onion. Then cut it into thin slices on a mandolin. Transfer those slices into a bowl and cover them with the flour and the salt. Mix it so the onion slices are completely covered and then fry them at 160 degrees Celsius till they are nice and golden. Then season with some more salt.

How to finish the amuse

First start with the tartelettes. Then pipe a small layer of the gel on the bottom and fill the rest with the crab salad. Now take the crab cream and pipe a couple of dots on top. Do this as well with the tarragon gel. Then add the crispy onion and decorate it with some mustard leaves and a white flower paddle.

Bon appetit!