Crab salad

Take off the crab claws and legs, turn the crab onto its back and push the centre body upwards; this should dislodge it from the main shell.

Pick out all the brown feathery pieces and scoop the brown meat out, (this will look lumpy and unappetising but tastes delicious) keep to one side.

With a rolling pin and a large chopping board bash the crab claws until they break and scoop out all the crab meat into a bowl. Be careful about the shell but don’t worry too much as you can pick through the crab later. With the legs, cut the ends off with a sharp knife and scrape out the meat with a long fork.

Finally, take the centre body, place it on the chopping board and split it into two, this should make getting into all the cavities easier – remove as much meat as you can.

Place all the crab meat on a flat tray and use your fingertips to go through the meat and make sure there is no shell.

To serve

Season the white crab meat with salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon and a dash of olive oil. Place all of the brown meat including the lumpy bits into a bowl and mix it with a whisk until it is consistently smooth. Add a squeeze of lemon, oil, salt and pepper.

Mix all salad ingredients together with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and place on a plate.

Spoon a pinch of brown meat onto each portion of salad then carefully put white crab meat on top and finish by grating Bottarga all over.

Tips & tricks

• Going through the crab meat with your fingertips to find any last bits of shell may be time consuming, but your guests will thank you for doing a thorough check.
• Bottarga has a very strong flavour that goes a long way, so make sure to use it sparingly.
• Find out more about the differences between lobster and crab meat.

Storage

Your crab salad is best stored in the fridge and should not be left at room temperature for more than a couple of hours. Sealed in an airtight container, it will keep in the fridge for up to three days – make sure you give it a good stir before using it again. Freezing is not recommended.

This recipe was updated on 01/07/2023.