For the crab cakes
220g hand picked white crab meat
A small pinch of salt
A small pinch of cracked black pepper
A large pinch of chopped parsley
5g chopped chervil
1 spring onion finely sliced
Zest of half a lemon
15g breadcrumbs (panko Japanese style are best)
75g homemade or good quality mayonnaise
For the puree:
6 red peppers
Small pinch of saffron
150ml Cornish rapeseed oil
Method
To make the puree:
- Cut the peppers in half and remove the stem and all seeds, cut into chunks roughly the size of a fifty pence piece.
- Put into a sauce pan with 15ml of the oil on a very low heat and cook for roughly 1 hour until soft and tender.
- Once soft, add the saffron and the remaining oil and put into a liquidiser or food processor and puree until smooth. If the mixture looks a little too thick then add a little warm water.
- Once blended pass through a sieve to remove any last small bits of skin.
To make the crab cakes:
- Mix all of the ingredients together and shape into small cakes.
- Heat a non-stick pan and add the crab cakes - no oil should be needed as the oil from the mayonnaise will fry them.
- Fry for 30 seconds until golden brown, then flip them over and turn the heat down to a low temperature.
- Continue to fry for 3 – 4 minutes, turning once more onto each side.
- Whilst the crab cakes are cooking, gently heat the puree in a small pan.
To plate up:
- Place the crab cakes and puree on a plate and garnish with salad leaves.
Chef's tip: we also add a little basil pesto, which can bring a whole new dimension to the dish!
