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 EVERYONE
WHO KNOWS ME knows how passionately Norfolk I am. I
won’t have a bad word said about the county, and especially
(although I am having to concede a bit on this) Norwich
City.
Oh, how I wish for a consistent run of
Saturday evenings, to be in a good mood between 5 and
8pm when reality has by then set in, and a full house
waiting, knife and fork in hand, perhaps waiting to
devour one of our crab salads.
Well, unless it is in April at the earliest,
you won’t get one from me. Norfolk crab is again one
of our seasonal treats.
At Morston Hall, we’re very fortunate
to get wonderful dressed crabs from Blakeney, from a
real local, Willie Weston, and I don’t reckon there’s
any finer. In fact, if I so wish he (well, his wife
Dawn actually) will separate the white meat from the
dark if necessary, which for me – and for this recipe
– is a great time-saver. If you ever go for a trip to
either Morston or Blakeney, you will, no doubt, see
Willie’s seafood caravan in Blakeney, or on Morston
Quay in the summer. I urge you to treat yourselves to
one of his dressed crabs.
MORSTON CRAB SALAD
(serves four)
4 dressed crabs (white and dark meat separated and
kept in separate bowls)
2 avocados 1 red chilli (finely chopped)
1 tbsp chopped coriander
juices of 2 limes
a good slug of olive oil
half a celeriac bulb (peeled and grated)
1 tsp Pommery mustard
2 tbsps mayonnaise
salt and pepper
a splash of Tabasco, Worcester sauce and lemon juice
Chop the avocado
Firstly peel and chop the avocado into a bowl; then
add the juice of the limes, followed by the coriander,
and finally the chopped chilli. Season to taste and
mix well. Add a good slug of olive oil and set aside.
Add to celeriac
Then in another bowl add to the grated celeriac, the
mayonnaise and mustard again, season to taste, mix well
and add a little olive oil if you feel necessary. Finally,
with the crab, take the dark meat and season; then add
a splash of tabasco, lemon juice and Worcester sauce
and mix well. For the white meat, all I do is add a
little lemon juice, salt and pepper and a touch of olive
oil, and taste.
Layer the salad
Now place a plain round cutter about three inches (7.5cm)
in diameter in the middle of the plate, and into the
bottom of the cutter. Put on a good dollop of the dark
meat, using the back of a spoon to flatten the crab
to make it level; then, on top of this, place a dollop
of the avocado mix and again flatten. Then the celeriac,
and finally, on the top, the white crab meat. Now carefully
lift off the cutter to reveal the wonderful layered
salad.
Wrap into balls
Now, using perforated clingfilm about 10 inches (25cms)
square, place a good dollop of chicken mousse in the
middle, bring the four corners together and wrap up
tightly tying a knot in the end, and making a tight
ball.
Garnish and serve
Finally garnish the dressed lettuce and serve, maybe
with a large glass of Chardonnay.
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