Crab Crème Brûlée
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)
CRAB CRÈME BRÛLÉE: 100g crab 200ml cream 70ml milk 25g pickled ginger 1 tbsp pickled ginger juice 1 egg + 1 egg yolk 2 very small cloves of garlic (crushed) Pinch of nutmeg Pinch of salt and pepper 8g finely grated parmesan (2g per portion) 8 slices of wholemeal melba toast
THAI PICKLED CUCUMBER: 80g caster sugar 80ml water 80g rice wine vinegar 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly 1 banana shallot peeled and sliced 1/2 a red chilli, deseeded and cut into fine strips A 2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fine strips A pinch of fresh coriander A pinch of fresh mint roughly torn
1. To make the crème brûlée combine the cream, milk, egg, egg yolk, nutmeg, salt & pepper. Add 1 clove of garlic, minced well and 15g pickled ginger, finely sliced. Mix with a hand blender to combine. Add 10g minced pickled ginger and 1 small clove minced garlic. Add the crab, a pinch more salt and the pickled ginger juice. Stir and set mixture aside for 15 – 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. 2. Preheat the oven to 110°C. Ladle the mixture into ramekins and place in a roasting tray. Make a bain-marie by pouring boiling water into the tray, halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with cling film. Place the bainmarie in the oven for 40 minutes, turning the tray once halfway through. When cooked, the mixture should wobble just a little in the centre. Remove ramekins from the bain-marie and allow to cool. These should be served at room temperature. When ready to serve, sprinkle a layer of the parmesan cheese on the top of each ramekin (2g per portion) and brown under a hot grill. 3. Prepare the Thai pickled cucumber by bringing the water, vinegar and sugar to the boil. Remove it from the heat. Peel and finely slice the ginger, deseed and finely slice the chilli, and slice the shallot. Add to the pickling liquid, stir and leave to cool. Peel and cut the cucumber into strips and remove the seeds. Tear some coriander and mint. When the pickle is cool, add the cucumber, mint and coriander and stir. 4. Serve each Crab Crème Brûlée with pickles and two slices of melba toast.
Nutritional information (per serving): Fat: 18g Sugar: 6g Fibre: 3g