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