Crab and Asparagus Starter

Ingredients

• sourdough bread, toasted
• asparagus, cooked with a little butter
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 fresh red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
• sea salt
• 125 g butter, softened
• 100 g butter, melted and clarified
• dill, fronds picked
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 pinch mace
• 1 nutmeg, for grating
• 300 g fresh crabmeat, two-thirds white and one-third brown
• lemon, to serve
• Buttered new potatoes, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Pick the dill fronds and set aside. Halve the chilli, scrape out the seeds, and chop the flesh as finely as you can.
2. In a bowl, combine the crabmeat with the lemon zest and juice, ground mace, cayenne, a generous grating of nutmeg, the chopped chilli, a pinch of sea salt and a good crack of black pepper. Fold gently — you want the white meat to stay in flakes.
3. Work in the 125 g of softened butter until the mixture is smooth and well bound, around 1 minute.
4. Spoon the crab into a serving dish (or four small ramekins), pressing down lightly and smoothing the top. Scatter the dill fronds over the surface.
5. Melt the remaining 100 g of butter slowly in a small pan until it separates, then pour the clear golden liquid carefully over the crab to seal it, leaving the milky solids behind.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until the butter is firm and the crab beneath has set.
7. Take the potted crab out of the fridge 10 minutes before serving to take the chill off. Serve with warm buttery asparagus, plenty of hot sourdough toast and lemon wedges for squeezing.