Simple yet tasty summer dish

BY RObert Birrell Of Arisaig HOtel A POPULAR summer starter in the Baywater Restaurant at the Arisaig Hotel, this simple yet tasty dish takes advantage of the west coast’s ocean larder. Brown crab is in season in summer and is relatively inexpensive to buy. This great recipe makes for an ideal light starter or lunch.

Arisaig Hotel is creating the starter course at the Taste the Wild festival’s Scran & Dram dinner aimed at celebrating the great food and drink found along the Road to the Isles. The festival will see great Scottish stallholders fill Mallaig harbour.

The Scran & Dram dinner is a fitting end to the festival and takes place on September 10. Tickets £35. Ingredients Crab cakes 225g crab meat 225g mashed potato 2 spring onions (chopped) 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds 3 tsp dark soy sauce 2 tsp fish sauce 2 free range eggs, beaten 70g panco breadcrumbs 40g plain flour Sauce: 1 onion 250g chopped tomatoes 1/2 tbsp tomato puree 25g coriander (roughly chopped) 1 tsp caster sugar 1 Mix crab meat, mashed potato, spring onion, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce and fish sauce, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. 2 Place heavy-based pan on low heat, add onion and sweat for 20 minutes. Add tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add chopped tomato and sugar and simmer for 1 hour. 3 While this is cooking, mould crab mixture into round cakes of about 60g each. Coat cakes in flour, then egg, and finally breadcrumbs and refrigerate until ready to cook. 4 Add coriander to sauce, then blend until smooth and season to taste. 5 Pan-fry fishcakes on a medium heat until golden brown, then transfer to preheated oven at 225C for 6-8 minutes. 6 Serve with a ramekin of dipping sauce and fresh coriander. In association with Taste Communications