Top 50 Gastropubs

How to make: the Beehive's ravioli of crab

By Nikkie Sutton

- Last updated on GMT

Inside the dish: the crab ravioli is stuffed with salmon mousse
Inside the dish: the crab ravioli is stuffed with salmon mousse
There’s little more enjoyable than a simple cock crab ravioli, stuffed with salmon mousse and garnished with samphire as shown in Top 50 Gastropub the Beehive’s recipe

Ingredients

The crabs
  • 3 large cock crabs
  • 6 litres of water
  • 100g salt
  • 3 lemons squeezed
  • Thyme
  • Bay

Salmon mousse

  • 200g smoked salmon
  • 200g sole
  • 1 egg white
  • 600ml double cream
  • Salt and pepper
Crab stock
  • 3kg crab shells
  • 50g onion
  • 50g carrots
  • 500g fennel
  • 50g leeks
  • 50g celery
  • 100g tomatoes
  • 20g garlic
  • 1g saffron
  • 100ml Pernod
  • 500ml white wine
  • 250ml brandy
  • 10g thyme
  • 10g rosemary
  • 20g parsley
  • 2 litres water
  • Salt and pepper
  • Lemon juice
  • Dash of Tabasco sauce
  • 150g butter
  • 500ml double cream
Filling
  • 1kg picked crab meat
  • 500g brown crab meat
  • 200g salmon mousse
  • 5g tarragon
  • 5g chervil
  • 10g parsley
  • 10g chives
  • Lemon juice to taste
  • Salt and pepper
To make ravioli
  • Pasta
  • 50g filling
  • 2 egg yolks
To finish crab ravioli
  • Samphire
  • Tomato concasse
  • Chervil
  • Crab stock
  • Cream
  • Brandy
  • White wine
  • Pernod

Method 

For the crabs:
  • Combine water, lemon juice, salt and aromatics and bring to the boil. Add crabs and simmer for 10 minutes (Cooking time depends crab size) 
  • Remove from water, allow to cool and pick the meat from shells. Keep white and brown meat separate
For the salmon mousse:
  • Remove skin and bone from fish and cut into chunks 
  • Place in the blender and mix with the egg white until a paste is formed
  • Remove from blender and pass through a fine sieve
  • Place paste into a bowl and then place over ice
  • Using a wooden spoon, slowly add the cream
  • Check consistency of the mousse by poaching a little spoonful in simmering water (do not boil)
  • Add cream until the right consistency is achieved
  • Correct seasoning of the mousse and store in fridge until required
For the crab stock:
  • Break crab shells up so they are as small as possible then roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and de-glaze with brandy (be careful as the brandy will ignite and the flames can get quite high)
  • Slice all vegetables then sweat down in olive oil. Cut tomatoes in half and caramelise in the oven
  • Add crab shells, tomatoes, wine, Pernod and all aromatics except parsley to the pan and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes to remove alcohol then cover with water
  • Simmer for 1 hour then remove from heat and infuse with parsley
  • Pass stock through a fine sieve and then reduce to intensify flavour
  • Finish stock with double cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice and Tabasco sauce
  • Store stock in fridge until required
To make the filling:
  • Combine all above ingredients then adjust seasoning and store in fridge until required
To make the ravioli:
  • Weigh filling out into 50g balls
  • Roll pasta to setting one on the pasta machine
  • Lay one sheet of pasta on a piece of parchment paper and place filling in the middle
  • Egg wash around filling then lay another piece of pasta over the crab mix
  • Carefully press around the filling, ensure air is removed
  • Using a cutter trim to the right size then cover and store in the fridge until required
And to drink?

A big smooth Chardonnay goes perfectly with crab but to cut through the salmon mousse, we’ve paired this dish with a dry Riesling

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