Crab and sweetcorn fritters with crab sauce
Make the most of every bit of crab with this irresistible recipe – the shells for the stock, the white meat for the fritters and the brown meat for a rich mayonnaise.
Ingredients
For the crab stock
- 1kg/2lb 4oz roasted crab shells
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 500ml/18fl oz fish or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 4 fresh ripe tomatoes
- 2 star anise
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 bay leaf
For the crab sauce
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú brown crabmeat
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz vegetable oil
For the crab and sweetcorn fritters
- 200g/7oz white crabmeat
- 2 tbsp brown crabmeat
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- 4 spring onions, chopped
- 2 corn on the cob, kernels only
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú cornflour
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú rice flour
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú gram flour
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the salad
- 1 head frisée lettuce, leaves removed
- 1 small bunch chives, left whole
- 2 tbsp chervil, leaves only
- 2 tbsp tarragon, leave only
To serve
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
Method
To make the stock, add all the ingredients to a large saucepan and boil for 1 hour, strain and boil again until reduced by half.
To make the crab sauce, place the crab, egg yolk, vinegar, mustard and garlic into a blender and blend. While blending, gradually add the oil until you have a thick mayonnaise. Whisk into the stock.
To make the fritters, place all the ingredients, apart from the oil, into a large bowl and mix. Gradually add water until you have workable batter. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add a large spoonful of the batter and cook for 2-3 minutes on either side until cooked through. Cook in batches until all the batter is used.
To make the salad, mix together all the ingredients in a bowl.
Place the sauce between four bowls and top with the fritters and chopped chives. Serve with the salad scattered on top.