Crab salad with grapefruit and ginger
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 3 hours
Sweet, delicate crab goes so well with fresh, citrusy flavours – something this delightful salad from Raymond Blanc showcases perfectly. Ideal for serving during spring and autumn, it's a showstopping starter which will put your culinary prowess to the test! Check out our guides for preparing crab and segmenting grapefruit if you need to brush up on your skills.
'Way back in 1977 I started to play with flavours from elsewhere, and one of my first dishes was a crab and avocado salad with grapefruit and ginger. I remember it very well; the flavours were warm and spicy, while the sweetness of the crab was nicely complemented by the bitterness of the grapefruit and the spiciness of the ginger. But it was also the ugliest dish I have ever made as the salad was finished off with a ball of avocado topped with a slice of black olive – it looked like a monstrous black and green eye. Many better versions followed featuring mango and grapefruit. That is the way dishes progress, to always look at a dish with curiosity.'
Follow Raymond on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Recipe © Raymond Blanc.
First published in 2020
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Crab salad
- 1 cock crab, whole and live, weighing approx. 2kg
- 35g of natural yoghurt
- 1 pinch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 3ml of lime juice
- 1 pinch of lime zest
- 2 pinches of sea salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Bisque
- 85g of onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 70g of fennel, chopped
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 100ml of olive oil
- 20g of tomato purée
- 300g of plum tomatoes, vine-ripened, chopped
- 20g of ginger, chopped
- 2 lemongrass sticks, bashed and chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp of cognac
- 125ml of Chardonnay, boiled for 1 minute
Crab cream
- 20ml of sunflower oil
- 1/2 lemongrass stick, bashed and chopped
- 2g of agar agar
- 30g of crème fraîche
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 lemon, juiced
Grapefruit jelly
- 1l water
- 1 grapefruit, peeled zest only
- 75ml of Gewürztraminer
- 10g of caster sugar
- 50g of pink grapefruit juice
- 1 pinch of agar agar
Lemon vinaigrette
- 40ml of lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 40ml of water
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 1 pinch of freshly ground white pepper
- 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
Celery
- 2 celery sticks, peeled
- 1 tbsp of celery leaves, picked from the heart of the celery
To serve
- 4 crab claws, from hen crabs, cooked
- 4g of caviar
- 1 pink grapefruit, segmented and sliced across into small wedges
- 12 long croutons, made from rye bread, 2mm thick and toasted
- 4g of borage, small leaves only, or buckler sorrel
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Kill, cook and extract the meat from the crab – you can ask your fishmonger to do this for you if you prefer but make sure the crab is very fresh. You will need 125g white crab meat and 50g of brown crab meat for the salad; 1kg of useable crab shell for the bisque; and 50g of the softer crab bones for the cream. Any leftover meat can be reserved for another dish
- 1 cock crab, whole and live, weighing approx. 2kg
2
For the crab and ginger bisque, place a large pan over a medium heat and add 30ml of olive oil. Sweat the onion, garlic, fennel, thyme, salt and pepper for 10 minutes until soft with no colour, then add the tomato purée and chopped tomatoes and cook slowly for 20 minutes
- 30ml of olive oil
- 85g of onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 70g of fennel, chopped
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 20g of tomato purée
- 300g of plum tomatoes, vine-ripened, chopped
3
Meanwhile, chop up the 1kg of reserved crab shells and sauté in a large frying pan in the remaining 70ml of olive oil for 3-4 minutes until light blond (the smell in the kitchen will tell you when to stop; do not brown as the sauce will be too strong). Add the ginger and lemongrass, cook for 1 minute, then drain off the fat
- 70ml of olive oil
- 20g of ginger, chopped
- 2 lemongrass sticks, bashed and chopped
4
Deglaze the pan with the cognac and boil for 10 seconds, then add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Add the contents of this pan to the pan with the tomatoes, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, skimming the surface
- 1 1/2 tbsp of cognac
- 125ml of Chardonnay, boiled for 1 minute
5
Meanwhile, pick through the white crab meat to ensure there is no shell and slightly chopped the brown crab meat. Mix both of these with the rest of the ingredients for the salad and taste for seasoning. Place in the fridge until required
- 35g of natural yoghurt
- 1 pinch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 3ml of lime juice
- 1 pinch of lime zest
- 2 pinches of sea salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
6
Once the bisque has been simmering for 15 minutes, pass through a fine sieve, taste for seasoning and weigh out 200g into a clean saucepan (any remaining bisque can be frozen for another dish)
7
To make the crab cream, sear the reserved soft crab bones in the sunflower oil for 3 minutes, stirring often (do not allow to colour). Add the seared bones and lemongrass to the 200g of bisque and allow to infuse for 10 minutes over a low heat. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, then add the agar agar and bring to a gentle simmer for 1 minute. Chill until jellified
- 20ml of sunflower oil
- 1/2 lemongrass stick, bashed and chopped
- 2g of agar agar
8
For the grapefruit jelly, place a large saucepan over a high heat and add the water. Blanch the grapefruit zest for 5 minutes to remove the bitterness, then drain and set aside
- 1l water
- 1 grapefruit, peeled zest only
9
Add the Gewurztraminer and sugar to the boil in a small saucepan for 10 seconds, then add the grapefruit juice, blanched zest and agar agar and boil for 30 seconds. Leave to cool so the flavours infuse. Once cool, strain through a fine sieve into a small bowl and refrigerate until set
- 75ml of Gewürztraminer
- 10g of caster sugar
- 50g of pink grapefruit juice
- 1 pinch of agar agar
10
For the celery, use a peeler to shave thin strips of celery, then place in a bowl of iced water with the picked leaves for 1 hour – this will firm up the texture. After an hour, drain and reserve in the fridge
- 2 celery sticks, peeled
11
For the lemon vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together and taste for seasoning. Reserve in a squeezy bottle until required, but give the bottle a shake before using to re-emulsify the dressing
- 40ml of lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 40ml of water
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 1 pinch of freshly ground white pepper
- 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
12
Once the crab cream has set to a jelly, place in a blender and blitz until rich and silky. Whisk in the crème fraiche and lemon juice, season, then store covered in the fridge until required
- 30g of crème fraîche
- 1/4 lemon, juiced
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
13
You now have all the elements ready to serve this dish. Spoon a 4cm strip of the crab cream down the centre of each plate. Dress the crab claws with the lemon vinaigrette, then place a claw on the right-hand side of the cream. Arrange 2 mounds of the crab salad on top of the cream, then dress the slithers of celery with the lemon vinaigrette and arrange these on top. Place grapefruit segments and jelly around the edge of the cream, then add the croutons in between the mounds of crab salad. Finish with caviar, micro herbs and the celery leaves
- 4 crab claws, from hen crabs, cooked
- 1 pink grapefruit, segmented and sliced across into small wedges
- 1 tbsp of celery leaves, picked from the heart of the celery
- 4g of caviar
- 12 long croutons, made from rye bread, 2mm thick and toasted
- 4g of borage, small leaves only, or buckler sorrel
First published in 2020
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