Recipe of the month: Crab and watermelon salad
PUBLISHED: 12:10 21 June 2014 | UPDATED: 12:10 21 June 2014
Crab and watermelon salad
Archant
By Tom Biddle, head chef at Tudor Park, the venue for the 2014 Kent Life & Kent on Sunday Food and Drink awards
INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 as a starter
For the crab salad
150g white crab meat
3 tbs mayonnaise
Juice of one lemon
2 tsps whole grain mustard
10g finely chopped chives
Few drops of Tabasco sauce
30g of watermelon, cut into small chunks
Handful of basil leaves
For the crispy crab nuggets
Knob of butter
Half a shallot, finely chopped
50g risotto rice
250ml fish or vegetable stock
50g brown crab meat
50g plain flour
1 beaten egg
50g breadcrumbs
Oil for frying
METHOD:
Make the crab nuggets in advance by first making a risotto:
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan, and gently fry the shallot until soft
2. Add the rice, and coat well until transparent
3. Add a little of the hot stock at a time, adding more as the stock is absorbed by the rice. Continue in this way for about 20 minutes until the rice is soft and tender. Leave to cool
4. Combine the risotto with the brown crab meat, and form into small balls
5. Coat in flour and then dip into the beaten egg, and then into the breadcrumbs.
6. Shallow fry for about five minutes until golden
7. To make the crab salad, combine the white crab meat with mayonnaise, chopped chives, lemon juice, mustard and Tabasco sauce
8. Arrange the watermelon and basil on serving plates and pile the crab salad on top. Serve with the crispy crab nuggets
Tom’s Tip: Make the crispy crab nuggets in larger quantities and freeze once cooked. They can then be defrosted and heated through in the oven, to be served as canapés with drinks.
