Here is the incredible starter from our last Supper Club which I am only getting to post now. Jan is gluten-free and always adapts her recipes in this case with gluten-free flour. But she doesn’t stop there. The original recipe below was also adapted. The additions are at the end.
SWEET PEA PANCAKES WITH CRAB
Serves 4 – 6
Crab Mix:
1 red onion, peeled and very finely sliced
250ml tub of crème fraiche
Juice of one lemon
500g crab meat
2 tbsp. olive oil
Bunch of parsley, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
Tabasco or anchovy essence
Sprouts or shoots for garnish
Pancakes:
225g frozen peas
1 egg
1 egg yolk
200-250ml cream
90g flour
Salt & pepper
Few knobs of butter and olive oil
Wash your hands and check the crabmeat for bits of shell (it happens sometimes). Mix all the ingredients into the crabmeat, season well with the tabasco/anchovy essence (how much you use is up to you) and set aside.
Pop the peas into a pot of boiling water for just 30 seconds, then drain and rinse under cold water to cool them down. Put in a food processor. Add all the other ingredients (except the flour) and blitz until smooth. Finally fold in the flour and let it rest for a while. You can do this the night before.
Fry the pancakes in a little oil and a knob of butter until golden on both sides. Make each one about four inches across. Drain on kitchen paper and you can fry them off in advance and just re-heat on a baking tray before serving. You don’t need them to be hot, just warm. Serve with a suitably sized blob of the crab mix on top.
As you can see from the photo, Jan not only served crab meat, but also prawns on a bed of finely shredded lettuce mixed with a Marie Rose sauce (I use mayonnaise, Worcestershire or tabasco sauce, lemon juice and tomato puree mixed together). This held the prawns in place. Jan is also into presentation, so look at the tiny details in the photo such as the garnishes and the dressed leaves. I can assure you this was as tasty as it looks. And it doesn’t seem too difficult, so if you want to impress your dinner party guests, get cooking.
