Brixham crab with Jerusalem artichoke
- medium
- 4
- 2 hours
Try Simon Hulstone’s light and elegant starter that showcases contrasting textures of Jerusalem artichoke and crab. Earthy artichokes are crushed, puréed and deep-fried; brown crab meat is blended into a smoky pâté and sweet white crab meat is simply dressed in a hazelnut mayonnaise. Brown butter brings richness and ponzu, chives and lemon sorrel provide bright notes.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE CRUSH
- 8 Jerusalem artichokes
- 25g of brown butter
- 15ml of ponzu
- 10g of chives, finely chopped
CRAB TUILES
- 50g of egg white
- 50g of brown butter
- 50g of plain flour
- 200g of crab or shellfish stock, reduced to 50g and the consistency of yeast extract
- 100g of maple syrup
- 25g of hazelnuts, finely chopped
WHITE CRAB
- 150g of white crab meat, picked
- 15g of mayonnaise
- 1 dash of hazelnut oil
BROWN CRAB PÂTÉ
- 100g of brown crab meat
- 20g of panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE PURÉE AND CRISPY SKINS
- 10 Jerusalem artichokes
- 100g of unsalted butter
- 100g of double cream
- vegetable oil, for frying
TO SERVE
- 25g of roasted hazelnuts, halved
- lemon sorrel
Equipment
- Non-stick baking mat
Method
To make the Jerusalem artichoke crush, place the artichokes in a pan of water, bring to the boil then cook until soft
Once cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skins, then roughly crush the flesh. Lightly combine with the butter and ponzu then set aside to cool completely. Add the chives and season to taste. Keep in the fridge until needed
- 25g of brown butter
- 15ml of ponzu
- 10g of chives, finely chopped
For the crab tuile, preheat the oven to 150°C. Combine all of the ingredients except the hazelnuts in a blender and blend until smooth
- 50g of egg white
- 50g of brown butter
- 50g of plain flour
- 200g of crab or shellfish stock, reduced to 50g and the consistency of yeast extract
- 100g of maple syrup
Spread very thinly over a nonstick baking mat or baking sheet lined with baking paper then evenly sprinkle over the hazelnuts. Bake in the oven for 3 minutes until golden brown, then leave to cool. Break into shards and set aside
- 25g of hazelnuts, finely chopped
Check the white crab meat for any shell then put in a bowl. Combine the mayonnaise and hazelnut oil to create a hazelnut mayo (you want a subtle hazelnut flavour), then stir this through the crab. Season to taste and set aside in the fridge until needed
- 150g of white crab meat, picked
- 15g of mayonnaise
- 1 dash of hazelnut oil
For the brown crab pâté, check the brown crab meat for any shell then place in a blender and blend with the panko and paprika until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and keep in the fridge until needed
- 100g of brown crab meat
- 20g of panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
For the Jerusalem artichoke purée, preheat an oven to 180°C. Place the whole artichokes on a baking sheet and bake until soft. Once cool enough to handle, halve the artichokes and scrape out the flesh, trying to keep the skin intact and removing as much flesh as possible. Set aside the skins
Blend the artichoke flesh, butter and cream to a smooth purée then season to taste. Transfer to a piping bag
- 100g of unsalted butter
- 100g of double cream
To serve, bring the crab out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Heat a pan a third full of vegetable oil or a deep-fat fryer to 190°C. Deep-fry the skins until crispy, then season
- vegetable oil, for frying
To plate, quenelle two mounds of the white crab per portion alongside a quenelle of the artichoke crush. Pipe the artichoke purée and crab pâté around in dots. Place around the hazelnuts and lemon sorrel
- 25g of roasted hazelnuts, halved
- lemon sorrel
Just before serving, place the crab tuiles and fried artichoke skins onto the plate and serve
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