Fresh, clean, and properly summery. Sweet mango, peppery rocket, and delicate crab meat held together by a light citrus dressing that leans more towards freshness than sweetness. This is one of those dishes that looks like more effort than it actually is.
Ingredients (for 2)
- 2 blue swimmer crabs (or similar)
- 1 large mango, or 2 small ones
- A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 good handful of rocket
- ¼ red onion, finely julienned
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tsp honey
- Salt and black pepper
Preparation
Cook the crab
- Bring a pot of well-salted water to the boil.
- Drop the crabs in for about 60 seconds, just enough to firm them up.
- Remove, cut off legs and claws (this is mostly to make vacuum sealing easier), and bag them.
- Cook sous vide at 68 °C for 45 minutes.
- Once done, plunge the bags straight into an ice bath to stop cooking.
Prepare the salad
- Peel the mango and cut it into thick strips or cubes.
- Finely slice the red onion and halve the cherry tomatoes.
- Wash and dry the rocket properly.
Make the dressing
- Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, honey, salt, and pepper.
- Taste and adjust. It should be bright, lightly sweet, and very fresh.
Finish
- Remove all the meat from the crabs, keeping it in nice chunky pieces where possible.
- In a large bowl, toss mango, tomatoes, onion, and rocket with just enough dressing to coat.
- Gently fold through the crab meat at the end so it stays intact.
- Plate immediately and finish with a final crack of black pepper.
Light enough to start a meal, but satisfying enough to stand on its own with a cold glass of something crisp.
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