Charlie Langrick’s Pembrokeshire devilled crab rarebit with crabmeat salad

Be sure to use fresh crab for this recipe, in which the rich brown crabmeat in the rarebit contrasts with the sweet white meat of the zesty salad. Classic rarebit recipes use beer, but a dry cider works well here — you only need a splash, so you can save the rest to enjoy over lunch.

SERVES: 4 TAKES: 20 MINS

INGREDIENTS

10g butter 10g plain flour 125ml good-quality, dry cider (Charlie

uses Gethin’s Original Cyder) 1 tbsp Dijon mustard ½ tsp cayenne pepper 80g mature cheddar, grated 200g fresh brown crabmeat 4 slices of sourdough bread

FOR THE SALAD

200g white crabmeat 1 large braeburn apple, finely grated bunch of watercress squeeze of lemon juice 1 tbsp light olive oil

METHOD

Melt the butter in a pan set over a low heat, then add the flour and stir to form a roux. Add the cider a little at a time, mixing until smooth. Cook gently for 2 mins, stirring, then add the mustard, cayenne and cheddar, plus a little salt, to taste. Leave to cool slightly, then mix in the brown crabmeat.

Grill one side of the bread slices. Thickly spread the other side with the crabmeat mix and grill until it’s golden and bubbling.

For the salad, toss the white crabmeat with the apple and watercress, then dress with the lemon juice and olive oil.