Salad of crab with buttered Norfolk samphire

Salad of crab with buttered Norfolk samphire Method 1. For the crab salad: begin by separating the white and dark meat from the crabs, and put in separate bowls.

Peel and chop the avocado into a bowl. Add the lime juice, the chopped chilli and coriander, season and mix well. Stir in the olive oil, cover tightly with clingfilm and set aside.

Coarsely grate the celeriac into another bowl to make a remoulade. Stir in the mustard and mayonnaise, and season. If the mixture is too stiff add a little olive oil.

Next, season the dark crab meat with a little lemon juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, tasting as you do so. Season the white crab meat with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper and add a drop of olive oil to bind together.

Place a 7.5cm round pastry cutter in the centre of a serving plate. Spoon a sixth of the dark crab meat into the pastry cutter pressing it down with the back of a spoon. On top of this spoon in a sixth of the avocado mixture, followed by a sixth of the celeriac mixture. Top it of with a sixth of the white crab meat. Press each layer down firmly in turn. Carefully lift off the pastry cutter to reveal the layered crab salad.

For the samphire: bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add a good pinch of sugar and plunge in the samphire. Boil for 2 minutes, before draining. Refresh under cold running water.

Reheat in a saucepan over a medium heat with the butter and a good grinding of black pepper. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over the samphire and serve with the crab salad.