Padstow Crab BLT - James Martin Chef

Ingredients

• 1kg whole brown crab
• 1 lemon cut into ¼
• 1 onion roughly chopped
• 1 leek roughly sliced
• 1 carrot sliced
• ½ fennel bulb roughly chopped
• 2 sticks celery roughly chopped
• 30g salt per 1 litre of water in a large pan
• 150ml white wine
• 4 cloves garlic crushed with skin on
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 star anise
• 6 parsley stalks
• 200g fresh picked crab meat
• 50g brown crab meat
• 1 large brown wholemeal bloomer bread
• 75g mayonnaise
• 1 baby gem lettuce
• 6 rashes smoked streaky bacon (baked between two trays at180°C for 10/12 minutes until crispy)
• 6 semi cured tomato petals
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 20g chives chopped fine
• 6 large basil leaves cut into strips
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Sea salt
• 250g unsalted butter softened
• ½ shallot diced fine
• 20g parsley chopped
• ½ lemon zest and juice
• 40g capers chopped fine
• 1 large gherkin diced fine
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 ripe red vine tomatoes, skins peeled cut into 1/4’s and de seeded
• 2 tablespoons castor sugar
• 50ml sherry vinegar
• 250ml extra virgin olive oil
• 4 thyme sprigs leave’s picked
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Return the simmering pan to the boil and place the crab into the pan and cook for 8-9 minutes for a 1kg crab and adjust the time according to size i.e. 2kg crab cooks for 16-18 minutes.
• Remove the crab from the boiling water and leave in a colander to cool until room temperature.
• Use a teaspoon to scrape out the brown meat from inside the corners of the main brown shell
• Your crab meat should be refrigerated until needed and eaten as fresh as possible within two days of cooking and picking.
• In a bowl mix the mayonnaise with the brown crab meat and season with a little salt and pepper, add ½ a lemon zest and juice and mix well, leave in the fridge until needed
• Prep the lettuce by cutting the core off and separating the leaves, cut the leave in half and place in a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes to crispen up, pat dry and leave in fridge until needed
• In a bowl add the white crab meat, chives, basil, ½ a lemon and lime zest and juice, with 2 tablespoons of the brown crab mayonnaise and bind together. Finish with salt and pepper to season.
• Spoon the crab generously onto one slice directly on top of the tartar butter and start to build your layers, next add the lettuce then the cured tomatoes.
• Drizzle the mayonnaise over the lettuce and tomatoes and top with the crispy bacon.
• Finish with the 2 nd slice of bread and cut though on the angle to showcase the beautiful colours and layers then enjoy.