Souffléd crab & asparagus tart

Look at that rise - and it was falling, as we were photographing it

I was in two minds as to whether to blog this recipe, as it had a variety of reactions from us here - not all of which were good.

However, the story is worth blogging as it was an interesting process to go through in making it, the dish turned out beautifully - apart from the obvious flaw which I deal with below - and there must be somebody out there who would enjoy eating it!

Because of the lack of affordable fresh crab meat locally - which I find completely outrageous, as we're right on the South Coast - I had to resort to using tinned crab.

What makes a crab affordable, you might ask?  Well, I'd been quoted prices of £7 for a small to medium Poole Bay crab - which is very definitely unaffordable.  If I could find any kind of crab for £4, that would become affordable (just!) but "not around here" seems to be the problem.

You can just see the texture in this picture

Regrettably, the tinned crab we opted for had to have been the one to avoid.  I know that there is better tinned crab out there, because I've used it before.  However, this one (Kingfisher brand) was bitter and rank.  Unfortunately, we didn't discover just how bitter until we tasted the tart.

However, the bitterness of the crab meat was just my problem with the tart.  I did actually manage to finish my slice, but I wouldn't have wanted to have gone back for any more!

Son and heir said that he couldn't taste crab in the tart at all, which surprised me, as all I could taste was its bitterness.

Hubby couldn't handle the egg component of the tart.  He has a marked sensitivity to eggs anyway, but I had assumed that he would be okay as a) the eggs were part of a tart filling and b) he'd had an egg-based tart filling not very long ago, when I made the Salmon & Asparagus Quiche - and been fine for that.  However, what I'd not taken into account was the souffléd texture of the tart filling.  Those whipped egg whites were the undoing of him.  One mouthful in and it was very apparent that he wouldn't be able to continue.  So  he had a meatball sandwich instead, poor chap!

It looked beautiful when it came out of the oven!

So, you'll see this poor old tart really wasn't done justice to at all by us - and I'm quite sure that with a better brand of tinned crab meat, or alternatively fresh crab meat, it would be quite delightful.

It was an interesting cooking exercise, though, as I've been hankering after making a soufflé for a while - and this was a sort of half-way house to the soufflé proper.

There are some recipes that just bear the reputation of being difficult - and soufflé is one of them.   On T.V. programmes such as Masterchef and Britain's Best Dish, the mention of a soufflé being attempted (note "attempted" - I'm doing it now!) is greeted by a chorus of sharply indrawn breaths and comments like "it could all be over, if this soufflé won't rise!".

Well, as ever, issue me with a challenge and I'll have a crack at it.  I felt that the reputation of soufflé in general was the challenge, but I was glad of an opportunity to have a go at a halfway house version.

With this recipe, you are required to make a roux-based sauce - a very thick version - into which you mix all your flavourings - nutmeg, chilli, crab meat.  You then fold in the whipped egg whites and the whole kit and kaboodle goes into the tart case and into the oven.

What came out, was a perfectly risen pastry encased soufflé.  To say that I was pleased, was something of an understatement.  I'm now filled with confidence to try a cheese soufflé for lunch one day soon.

If only that crab meat had have been good.  Ah well - live and learn.

I found the original recipe on the BBC Good Food website and rather than recommend it here, which I really don't feel able to do, I thought I'd point you in the right direction to find it, if you want to have a go at it yourself.  Just click on the link here.    

Creamy crab & pea pasta

Today has been a momentous day in the life of our son, as he finally got his sweaty paws on a copy of "Halo Reach" for the XBox360 - and not just any edition, but the Limited Edition.  (Thanks to a little help from hubby & I).  So, the whole evening has been turned over to him in that he has unlimited access to the t.v. for game playing.  This, of course, demanded some thought as regards what to cook for tea.

What to give son was easy - you'll recall he only ever asks for pizza or high tea, so pizza it was.  He downed tools for long enough to eat his pizza and a yoghurt, then was back at it - "it" being intently blowing things up.  I suppose it has it's attractions if you're 11yrs old.

So that left hubby and I to feed.  What a chance, and how to capitalise on it?  It's not often we get to eat what we want to, without having to worry about son not liking component a, b, or c.

Hubby had expressed a desire for crab during last week's shopping trip and I'd "put it behind my ear for later", so to speak.  I mooted the idea of having "something involving crab" and we were sorted.  Just had to find a recipe.

Good old BBC Good Food came up trumps yet again, with their "Creamy crab & pea pasta".  It was simple, relatively inexpensive and looked yummy.  Now we just had to get our hands on a crab.  Regrettably, here the plan fell down as no crabs were to be had when we were looking.  So, we resorted to a tin of crab meat which wasn't quite the plan but one I hoped would "do".

It takes just a twinkling to prepare, so it is perfect for those days when cooking seems like too much of a chore.  In fact, it probably takes longer to wash up from it than it did to cook!  I really enjoyed it - as did hubby - and we both agreed that fresh crab would have livened the flavours up a little, as it began to get a tiny bit "samey" towards the end.  However, we can forgive that teensy element of sameness, as if every dinner we had was as delicious as this, we'd consider ourselves very lucky!

CREAMY CRAB & PEA PASTA (serves 4)

Ingredients :

400g spaghetti
200g frozen peas
300g fresh crab meat
5 tbsp double cream
1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
handful of parsley leaves, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
juice of half a lemon
freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Boil a large pan of salted water.  Once boiling, tip in the spaghetti and cook for around 7 minutes.

2.  Add the peas, then cook for another 2 minutes until both are cooked through.

3.  Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water in a separate container.

4.  Tip the pasta and peas back into the pan, together with the crab and cream.  Add the remainder of the ingredients together with some freshly ground black pepper and stir them through, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if the mix seems a tad dry.

Serve in warmed bowls, with buttered brown rolls.

Lemon Potted Crab

It's been a while since I've made this one, but it is delicious and made a lovely light weekend meal when matched up with some fresh crusty baguette and a leafy mixed salad.  Of course, it has the added bonus of taking around 10 minutes to make - allowing a bit of extra time for the butter to set, naturally.

The crabmeat is always best if you can get fresh - and it is required to be cooked, of course.  Alternatively, if you're out of crab season or just can't get crab for reasons of economics or geography, then do try to get the best quality tinned crab meat you can.  It's worth it!

Photo c/o BBC Good Food : the original source of the recipe

LEMON POTTED CRAB

Ingredients :

400g cooked crabmeat
Large pinch cayenne pepper
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
300g butter
Fresh parsley or celery leaves, to decorate.

Method :

1.  In a bowl, combine crab meat, cayenne, lemon juice and zest, and season well.

2.  Pack into 8 small or 1 large ramekin.

3.  Melt the butter, then pour over until the crab is covered with a thin film. Top with a leaf if you like, then cool in the fridge.

It will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge.  To prevent the butter melting, transport to your picnic in a chiller bag.

I'm seeing a tartan picnic rug, green grass, a bottle of white wine frosted with condensation, sunshine, a few strawberries, a riverbank and a partner who is almost as delicious as the crab .... maybe next summer, eh?  :)