Crab salad with a herb crisp

It's finally time, my first video in the new studio! We’re going to make a beautiful and so delicious crab dish. First I'm going to show you how to prepare and clean brown crabs. Then we use it to make a crab salad, a crab cream or mayonnaise and a crab flan. We're also going to make a blossom & apple gel, sweet and sour cucumber and beautiful crispy herb leaves.

How to prepare the crabs and the salad

2	brown crabs
1/2	Granny Smith apple
1 tablespoon	mayonnaise
1/4	lime

I use some beautiful brown crabs. My favorite! We start with the less pleasant part, killing the crabs. By cutting the head in half it’s killed fast and in the most humane possible way. Then remove the legs and claws and be sure to keep the head, we use this to make a broth. Now season a pan of boiling water with a generous amount of salt. The claws are boiled for 5 minutes. Small ones for 4 minutes, medium for 5 and big for 6 minutes. Once cooked directly cool them down in ice water. The legs are cooked for 2 minutes. Cool these down in ice water as well. After 5 minutes take them out of the water and separate both the legs and the claws. Then take the legs and cut the end to which the leg was attached to the body off. Keep all the trimmings for the broth. Now use a pair of tweezers to press the meat out of the legs. You can also do this with the back of a spoon. Then take the claws and break the finger of the claw. Once that’s done use the back of a knife or cleaver to break the shell. Try to break it in one hit to prevent too much shell from mixing with the meat. Now take the meat out of the shell and be sure to remove the swords as well. A claw has a big one and a small one, this is the big one. Then use the back of a spoon to remove the meat from the knees. Once you have removed all the meat transfer it on a cold tray and use your fingers to check the meat for any shell pieces and swords. As you can see it’s always good to double check, because there was still a little sword mixed in with the meat. Then transfer it into a bowl and keep it in your fridge. After that peel a granny smith apple and cut half in thin slices. Cut those thin slices in a julienne and then in small cubes also known as brunoise. Add the apple to the crab salad and season it with a tablespoon of mayonnaise and the zest from a quarter of a lime. Then cut the zested part of the lime and juice it. Also add some salt and give it a good mix. Once the seasoning is good cover it and keep it in your fridge for later.

The crab reduction

	The crab heads and trimmings
3	shallots
1 bulb	garlic
200 g	white wine
100 g	Pernod wine
1 liter	water
3 sprigs	thyme
1	bay leaf
1 sprig	tarragon

Take the crab heads and break them open. Then remove the death man’s fingers, these are very bitter so double check to be sure. Now pour a drizzle of oil in a hot pan and start pan frying both the crab head and the crab trimmings. Give it a good mix every now and then to insure you get a color all around. Meanwhile cut the shallots in half and clean them. Then slice them in thin slices and add them to the pan. Now cut the garlic in half and add it to the pan as well. Continue pan frying till you’re happy with the color. Once that’s the case deglaze the pan with the white wine, the pernod and the water. Also add the thyme, the bay leaf and the tarragon. Let this simmer on a low heat for 45 minutes. After that drain the broth and let it drip for at least 30 minutes so you don’t waste a single drop. Then let it reduce for 90% till it’s a thick and super flavorful reduction, this is liquid gold! Once reduced pass it through a fine sieve. Now this reduction is already so good, but I’m going to show you how to turn it into a beautiful crab cream.

The crab cream

30 g	crab reduction
30 g	egg yolk
10 g	mustard
10 g	lime juice
2 g	salt
140 g	cold neutral oil

Pour the cold reduction into a blender and also add the egg yolk, the mustard, the lime juice, the salt and the cold neutral oil. Now blend this till it’s fully emulsified and a beautiful mayonnaise. Then transfer it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later.

The crab flan

1 leaf or 1.6 g	gelatin
160 g	milk
50 g	egg yolk
40 g	crab reduction
5 g	lime juice
2 g	salt
1/4	lemongrass

For that first soak the gelatin in cold water. Then pour the milk in a saucepan and heat it up till it starts to steam. After that turn off the heat and dissolve the gelatin. Give it a good mix. Now mix the egg yolk with the crab reduction, the lime juice and the salt. Then while stirring slowly add the milk gelatin mixture. After cut the lemongrass in thin slices and let it marinate in the crab mixture for 30 minutes. Once marinated pass it through a fine sieve. Now pour the mixture into a bowl or a plate. I serve 20 grams to each guest. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then steam them at 85 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes. It still needs to be a bit wiggly, but not liquid. Then remove the wrap and let the flan cool down in your fridge. Once it has cooled down be sure to keep it covered to prevent it from drying out.

The herbs crisps

90 g	water
60 g	neutral oil
10 g	flour
1 g	salt
2 g	seaweed powder

First the base, mix the water with the neutral oil, the flour, the salt and the seaweed powder. Blend this till smooth and then pour it into a piping bottle. Then pour the batter into an American pancake pan and pan fry the crisps on a low medium heat till the bubbles stop forming. This means it’s crispy. Now place them on a kitchen paper and keep it covered for later.

20 g	tarragon leaves
20 g	chives
20 g	parsley leaves
3 x 60 g	egg white
3 x 40 g	neutral oil
3 x 10 g	sugar
3 x 3 g	salt
3 x 10 g	butter
3 x 50 g	flour

Then for the crispy herb tuilles. I use the same recipe, the only thing that’s different is the herbs. I have tarragon, chives and parsley. Mix the herbs with the egg white, the neutral oil, the sugar, the salt and the butter. Now blend this till smooth. Once smooth add the flour and then blend it once more. Then spread it on the herb leaf tuille molds. These are from Mold Brothers, click here for more info. Bake them at 150 degrees Celsius for around 12 to 15 minutes. For each leaf I use a different herb and on the chive tuilles I added a layer of chive powder. Once baked this will give a great flavor and a beautiful effect. Then gently take the leaves out of the molds and let them cool down completely. After that drizzle a thin line of the tuille batter on the seaweed crisp and place the herbs leaves on top. Let it dry at 40 degrees Celsius for 2 hours and you’ll end up with a beautiful and delicious crisp!

The blossom & apple gel

30 g	blossoms
1 g	whole cinnamon
400 g	apple juice
30 g	sugar
30 g	apple cider vinegar
	agar powder

I use some snowy Mespilus blossoms, but elderflower is also very good! Transfer 30 grams into a jar and add the cinnamon. Then mix the apple juice with the sugar and the apple cider vinegar. Bring this to a boil. Once it’s boiling pour it on the blossoms and close the jar. Let it marinade in your fridge for a day. The next day you can pass it through a fine sieve into a pan and add a gram of agar powder for every 100 grams of apple blossom liquid. Give it a good mix and then bring it to a boil for at least 30 seconds. After that pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge. When the gel is set transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth. Then pour it into a bowl and vacuum the gel to remove any air bubbles and create a more intense and clear gel. Keep it in your fridge for later.

Final prep and how to finish the dish

Peel a cucumber and use a pommes Parisienne drill to cut little balls out of the cucumber. You can also slice it in nice cubes. Then cover the balls with sushi vinegar and let it marinade in your fridge. Now we can start to finish the dish. Place 1 or 2 tablespoons of the crab salad on the flan and drizzle the cream or mayonnaise on top. Also add a thin drizzle of the gel. Then add 9 of the cucumber balls. And finally gently place the crisp on top and it’s ready to be served!