New Crab Dish as there is some beautiful Devon Crab around

Fresh Handpicked Crab Meat with Beetroot Carpaccio, Apple Jelly and Tempura fried Prawns

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1lb            Fresh white Crab Meat

20g           fresh chopped chives

1                                               fresh beetroot (for carpaccio)

2tbsp       Mayonnaise

8               Tiger Prawns

                 Mixed Salad Leaves

                 Salt and Pepper

METHOD

Take the white Crab meat and pick through it to make sure there is no shell in it. Mix the Mayonnaise, chopped chives in and season to taste. Place in fridge till ready to use.

TO COOK THE BEETROOT

Wrap the fresh beetroot, with a little salt in tin foil and cook in in the oven at 170c for 1 hour. Once cooked, take out of oven and allow to cool. When cool, peel off the skin, slice very thinly and using a 4cm cutter, cut rounds from the slices and place in fridge till ready to use.

FOR THE APPLE JELLY

4                Granny Smiths Apples (or 200ml good quality apple juice)

2                Leaves Gelatine

1tsp          Lemon Juice

                  Salt & Pepper

METHODCore the apples and extract the juice in a juicer. Squeeze the lemon juice into the extracted juice. Soak the gelatin in ice cold water for 5 minutes. Warm 5 tablespoons  of the apple juice, take the gelatine and squeeze out any excess water then add gelatine to apple juice and allow to dissolve, add the warm juice to the remaining juice and pass through a strainer. Place in to a container and allow to set in fridge for at least two hours.

FOR THE TEMPURA BATTER

200g        Plain Flour

1tbsp       Baking Powder

100g        Corn flour

200ml      Sparkling water

                  Salt & Pepper to taste

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients together and whisk until  smooth.

TO SERVE

On each of the 4 plates place the beetroot rounds in the centre to form a flower pattern. Take a 6cm mould ring and place the crab mixture about half-way up the ring, pushing the crab out to the sides to create a well. Chop the jelly into small cubes and place in to the well, then just top a little more crab over so that the jelly will be covered and in the centre of the mix. Position the mould in the middle of the beetroot flower and carefully lift of the ring.

Dip the prawns in  the Tempura batter and fry at 180c in a deep fat fryer for 2 minutes. Whilst these are cooking, dress the salad and arrange on top of the crab. Arrange the cooked prawns on either side of the crab. Serve

Roasted Seabass with Piccalilli Sauce

Serves 6 people.

Ingredients

1 x 3lb. Sea bass

1 large Cauliflower

1 Medium Cucumber

½ Red Pepper

½ lb. Silver-skinned onions

1 Spanish Onion

3oz. Ground Turmeric

4oz. Light Brown Sugar

½ pint White Wine Vinegar

2oz. Colmans English Mustard Powder

Method

1. To make piccalilli sauce firstly dice Spanish onion and fry in a little oil until soft without colour. Dice the red pepper and add the onions. Cook together for about 1 minute.

2. Break the cauliflower down into small florets and add to the pan. Mix in the ground turmeric and cook out for about 2 minutes. Add the peeled silver-skinned onions, light brown sugar, white wine vinegar and bring to the boil.

3. Peel and de-seed the cucumber and slice into 1/8 inch chunks, add to mix with the mustard powder that has been made into a paste with a little water.

4. Boil together for 5 minutes so the vegetables do not lose their crispiness.

5. Either portion Sea bass fillets and pan fry or roast whole on the bone in the oven on top of onions, fennel, leeks and soft herbs adding a good splash of white wine and olive oil.

6. Serve with plenty of the Piccalilli Sauce and a good addition you could add some new potatoes.