CRAB BUNS

Small buttery brioche buns are ideal for this – you don’t want big, floury burger buns.

You can cook the crab and pick the meat yourself, then use the shells to make a stock, or buy ready-picked crabmeat and make a stock from small crabs or prawn shells – I have included instructions for both options. Picking the crab is the most time-consuming part of this recipe, so buying it ready-picked is a good option. However, even if you have bought your crabmeat already picked, it’s really important to feel through it with your fingers for any little bits of shell, as it’s never guaranteed that it will be completely shell-free.

You can make the white bisque in advance and refrigerate it, but you will need to eat it within 2–3 days.

FOR 6

1 x 500g crab, or around 150g ready-picked crabmeat

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g cavolo nero

6 small buttery buns

For the white bisque

a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (around 1½ tablespoons)

1 clove of garlic, sliced very thinly

2 shallots, finely diced

1 bay leaf

100ml brandy

100ml sherry or white wine

500ml crab stock or prawn stock (see here)

250ml double cream

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

If you are cooking your crab, put it into a pan filled with cold salted water (you start cooking it from cold so that the crab cooks more gently) and bring to the boil. I normally work to 12 minutes per pound (450g) of crab weight. So, if your crab is around 500g, it will need boiling for about 14–15 minutes. Remove it from the water and leave to cool before picking the meat.

To make the white bisque, pour a drizzle of olive oil into another pan and put on a low-medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and let them cook down – you want them to be soft, but not browned. Add the bay leaf, brandy and sherry. Cook to evaporate the alcohol, then add the stock. Reduce by about five or six times: you want it to get really thick so there will be very little left in the pan – it will be almost like a glaze. At this point, add the double cream and reduce by half. Season to taste. Turn off the heat and leave the bisque to infuse for 15–20 minutes (this will make it more flavourful), then pass it through a sieve. When the bisque cools down it will be very compact – you should be able to scoop it like ice cream.

To prepare the cavolo nero, cut out the thick, woody stalk at the bottom third of the leaf. Blanch the leaves in boiling salted water for around 2–3 minutes, so that they are very soft, almost overcooked. Remove them to a bowl of iced water to prevent them from continuing to cook and to keep them green. Rinse and dry the leaves, then cut them widthways into 3cm strips.

Add the crabmeat to the white bisque and season to taste. At the last minute add the cavolo nero and mix to combine.

Split and toast the buns, then spoon in the crab/cavolo nero mixture and serve.