For me, the acid coming from the citrus fruit goes well with the sweetness of the crab bound in mayonnaise. The kick, brought by the vanilla and lemon glaze gives a unique texture and flavour to the dish.

Citrus Dressing

Ingredients

Juice of:
– 6 oranges
– 3 grapefruits
– 2 lemons
– 1 lime

– 1 tsp Dijon mustard
– 200ml sunflower oil
– 70ml olive oil
– 1 tsp walnut oil

Method
1. Boil the juice until it reaches syrup consistency.
2. Then pass through a fine sieve, cool down and blend with a hand blender.
3. Add oils and Dijon mustard.

Lemon Glaze

Ingredients
– 100g brown sugar
– 100g champagne vinegar
– 3 lemons
– 2 limes
– 1 vanilla pod

Method
1. Put the sugar and the vinegar into a pot and reduce until it reaches a soft caramel consistency.
2. Add the lemon segment and the vanilla, reduce by half.
3. Pass through a fine sieve when syrup has cooled, whip some cream and add the glaze (50gr of cream for 10 gr of glaze).

Pancake Mix

Ingredients
– 200g t55 flour
– 500ml milk
– 2 eggs
– 5g of salt

Method
1. Mix the flour with milk, add the eggs and mix well.
2. Pass through a sieve.
3. Cook the crepes on a low gas to keep them white.

Orange Foam

Method
1. Press two oranges and pass the liquid through a sieve.
2. Add a little bit of lecithin powder to trap the air and give the orange juice a light foamy texture.
3. For the green leaves, use a sakura mix.

Crab Filling

Ingredients
– 250g of Kilkeel Crab
– 100g of mayonnaise

Method
1. Pick crab to remove the small pieces of the shell
2. Mix the crab meat with mayonnaise, salt, pepper and lemon juice
3. Then roll the mixture into the crepe to form your cylinder.

I began my training in apprentice school in Vannes France Brittany and went on to work in some of Brittany’s esteemed Michelin Guide food venues. When I came to Ireland, I trained under Finbar Higgins at the K Club. I have been working for the last four years as Head Chef at Snaffles Restaurant at Castle Leslie Estate with our Executive Chef, Andrew Bradley.

We are passionate at Castle Leslie Estate about sourcing superb local food producers and their ingredients are used throughout the menu in our 2 AA Rosette award winning Snaffles Restaurant.

www.castleleslie.com