Michelin-starred chef from Carantec, Nicolas Carro, presents his first book, a 224-page journey through exceptional recipes and encounters with his favourite producers. Among them is this delicate recipe featuring spider crab, elevated with a touch of Petrossian caviar, perfectly reflecting his culinary world: creativity, elegance and respect for the ingredient.
Ingredients for 6 people.
SPIDER CRAB
- 2 spider crabs (500 to 600 g each)
- 100 g carrot
- 50 g celery stalk
- 20 g ginger
- 15 g long pepper
- 15 g juniper berries
- Coarse salt
- ½ head of garlic
- ½ bunch of thyme/rosemary
- 9 celery leaves
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Bring a large quantity of salted water to the boil with the sliced carrot, trimmed celery stalk, ginger, pepper, juniper berries, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Add the spider crabs and poach for 10 min. at a boil, then remove from the heat and leave to rest in the water for a further 10 min. Drain and leave to cool. Pick the meat from the legs and claws.
Remove the cream from the heads, reserve it in a Pacojet container, then carefully pick the remaining meat from the head.
Carefully sort through the spider crab meat. Season and add the finely chopped celery leaves, together with the head cream.
SEMI-SET SPIDER CRAB HEAD CONSOMMÉ
- 1 spider crab
- 7 cl sunflower oil
- 50 cl fish stock
- 150 g aromatic garnish (carrot, onion, leeks, garlic, thyme)
- 25 cl Noilly Prat
- Fine salt and freshly ground pepper
Clarification
- 100 g egg whites
- 100 g aromatic garnish
- 1 handful of ice cubes
- 2 velvet crabs
- 5 red peppercorns
Break the spider crab into 3 or 4 pieces. Colour in hot oil, then deglaze regularly with Noilly Prat.
Sauté the aromatic garnish and cover with fish stock. Cook for 1 hour.
Blend with a hand blender, cook for a further hour, then pass through a chinois.
Bring the stock to the boil, add the clarification (egg whites, aromatic garnish, ice cubes) and the velvet crabs, then bring back to a rapid boil.
Pierce the cap formed by the clarification and simmer for approximately 1 hour, until the consommé is clear.
Place 5 wild red peppercorns in a clean cloth, place it in a chinois and strain the consommé.
Refrigerate.
FERMENTED SHIITAKÉ
- 200 g shiitake mushrooms
- 2% fine salt
Place the shiitake mushrooms in a vacuum bag with 2% salt. Leave to ferment for approximately 1 week, then blend everything (mushrooms and juices). Pass through a fine chinois and reserve in a pipette.
CELERY PICKLES
- 1 celery stalk
- 5 cl Riesling vinegar
Slice the celery stalk into 2 mm slices, then vacuum-pack twice with the Riesling vinegar.
FINISHING AND PLATING
- 36 g Baeri Baïka Tsar Impérial Maison Petrossian caviar
- 120 g pickled cauliflower (see basic recipes, p. 215)
- 18 small, tender and pale (almost yellow) celery leaves
- Fine salt and freshly ground pepper
- Fleur de sel
In a slightly flared deep plate, using a 3.5 cm diameter pastry ring, form 3 circles with 25 g of the spider crab meat mixture, the semi-set consommé and the garnishes, then top each with a 2 g quenelle of caviar.
Adjust the seasoning with fleur de sel and sprinkle with the small celery leaves.