Chef Hugh McGirven's Scottish Brown Crab & Celeriac Strudel - Fishbox

Fishboxer Chef Hugh McGivern from Fishbox HQ

Using only the white crab meat, a fine julienne of celeriac, mayonnaise and filo pastry this is a great snack or a starter for a dinner party.

Ingredients

Whole brown crab

Onion

Celeriac

Carrot

Mayonnaise

Celery

Salt

Filo pastry

Caster sugar

Egg yolk

Bay leaves

Tarragon

Butter

Crisp salad

Method

Take a small celeriac and cut off all the outer skin, using a mandolin cut into thin slices and then cut these slices into thin strips.

Place all the strips into a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt and a little caster sugar, cover and place in the fridge for at least half and hour.

If your crab is alive keep it chilled or in the freezer prior to cooking as it is deemed the best way to dispatch it.

Place a pan of water on the stove to boil, add a couple of bay leaves, an onion ,carrot and a celery stick allow to cook for 10 minutes, remove the crab from your fridge/freezer and place into the boiling water, cover with a lid and cook for 6-8 minutes, remove and plunge into cold water and allow to cool.

Once cooled remove the legs and claws then separate the shell from the body, cut the body in half and with a crab pick pull out all the meat ( this can be quite time consuming but worth the trouble. Check through the meat for any rogue pieces of shell. Keep the claw, leg and brown meat in a separate container.

With the celeriac, squeeze  the excess water and pat dry.

Take 2 Tbsp of good quality mayonnaise and add an egg yolk, mix well and add to the celeriac, add a little chopped tarragon and lightly season, fold in the crab meat.

Take a sheet of filo pastry and cut in half, brush half the with melted butter and fold over. Place a spoonful of the crab mix along the bottom leaving a space at either end, fold these flaps over, butter the end and roll up the pastry to resemble a strudel.

Pan fry in a little clarified butter  until all sides are golden, place on a lined baking sheet then into a hot oven for 10 minutes until crisp.

Serve with a crisp salad and enjoy.