Irish Crab Crumpets
A WORD FROM THE CHEF
This is a lovely summer dish using fantastic Irish crab meat that’s perfect at this time of year. A wonderful lunch or brunch dish to wow your guests!
Ingredients
(Serves 8)
200g white crab meat
20g chopped dill
20g chopped chervil
20g chopped chives
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
30g mayonnaise
50ml white wine vinegar
175g strong white flour
175g plain flour
14g instant yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
350ml warm milk
150–200ml warm water
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
Vegetable oil for cooking
METHOD
For the crumpets
Weigh the flours into a bowl. Add the yeast and stir through the flour.
Dissolve the sugar in the warm milk and pour onto the flour. Using a wooden spoon, beat until you have a smooth batter. This will take three to four minutes and is hard work, but it is essential to produce the holes in the crumpets.
Cover and leave for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour. The batter will rise and then begin to fall. You will see marks on the side of the bowl where the batter was before it dropped.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda and salt with the warm water and beat it into the batter. Add about ¾ of the water and keep adding more until you achieve a double cream consistency. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
Heat a flat griddle or heavy-based pan. Lightly grease the inside of four metal crumpet rings. Lightly grease the griddle and place the rings on it over a medium heat.
Drop two dessert spoons of mixture into each ring. After four to five minutes, bubbles should appear and the surface should be set. Carefully turn the crumpets in their rings and cook for a further three minutes.
For the crab
You can purchase good-quality white crab meat from your local fishmonger. It’s best to double-check the crab meat for any shells or fibres and remove them.
Place the picked crab meat into a large bowl and add the chopped herbs, along with the zest and juice of the lemon. Add the mayonnaise to bind the crab meat together and season to taste.
To serve
Simply warm your crumpets with a little butter in the oven for a few minutes. Add a generous amount of the lovely seasonal crab on top and enjoy!
ABOUT THE CHEF
Leading a team of over 30 across six kitchens, including the award-winning Snaffles Restaurant, Aaron Duffy is passionate about local and estate-grown produce.
He sources seasonal ingredients from the historic walled garden and estate game, from venison and pheasant to rhubarb and duck eggs. Aaron prides himself on keeping the distance his food travels in metres, not miles, combining sustainability with creativity.
Working closely with the estate’s gamekeeper and grounds team, he crafts imaginative, seasonal menus that celebrate the very best of Castle Leslie Estate.
Take a look back at Aaron's recent wild garlic recipe.