Spider Crab Casserole

Ingredients:

4 spider crabs
330g (11 oz) white fish, cooked and flaked
150g (1/3 lbs) spinach, washed and drained
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
120ml (1/2 cup) brandy (traditionally Brandy de Jerez should be used)
250ml (1 cup) passata
150ml (3/5 cup) white wine
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp parsley, finely shredded
4 tbsp fine breadcrumbs
1 tbsp butter
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Begin by preparing the spider crabs: Crabs should really be killed before being cooked. This is both humane and it prevents them from 'shooting' (ie discarding) their claws and legs when plunged straight into boiling water.

Killing a crab, however, is not hard. Turn the crab onto it's back and underneath, towards the back of the shell you will see a small, triangular, pointed, flap. Lift this flap up and you will see a small hole in the shell. Take a small, pointed, screwdriver and pierce down through the hole. Use a hammer or the heel of your hand and give a sharp tap on the screwdriver until you feel it hit the other side of the shell. Now move the handle of the screwdriver sharply towards the back of the shell then withdraw it. Now turn the crab the right side up and allow any fluids to drain.

The crab is now dead and ready to cook.

Take the largest pan you have (a pasta pan or stockpot is ideal) then half-fill with fresh water and add plenty of salt (about 35g per 1l water is right). Stir until the sugar has dissolved then bring the pan to a vigorous boil.

Drop the crab into the water and bring back to a boil. As soon as the water starts boiling, begin timing. As a general rule, a 1kg crab will take about 20 minutes to cook. Above this weight add 5 minutes per 500g.

At the end of the cooking time, turn the contents of the pan into a colander then was the crab in plenty of fresh water to remove any surplus salt. Set aside to cool, then dress your crab.

For all crabs, the part that you absolutely MUST discard are the gills (known as the dead man's fingers). They act as the crab’s main barrier to bacteria and can make you ill should you consume one.

When the crab has cooled, turn it on it's back and twist off the legs and claws. Now hold the crab upside down with its eyes facing away from you. Use your thumbs to push the body where the rear legs attach and the body will 'pop' away from the main part of the shell.

Once the body has been separated from the main sell, take a spoon and scrape away the brown meat from the inside of the shell. Set the shell aside.

Now take the main body. Locate the to rows of feathery finger-like gills on either side. Carefully remove and discard these. The centre of the shell also contains a little more brown meat. Extract with a skewer and add to your brown meat pile.

Using the handle of a small spoon (or a crab picker if you have one) work your way around the remaining carcass and pick out all the white meat that you can find. When it's all extracted inspect it for any shell pieces then place in a pile separate from the brown meat.

With spider crabs you have the option, you can either crack the claws and legs with a rolling pin and then extract the meat, or you can divide the limbs into pieces by breaking at the joints, and serve with the meat.

Whilst preparing the crabs make sure to reserve the upper shells, cleaning and oiling them, as you will use these to cook the casseroles in. Also reserve any liquid from the crab shells.

Bring a small pan of water to a boil, add the spinach and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out the excess moisture then chop finely.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry for about 4 minutes, or until softened. Add the crab meat and the cooked and flaked fish. Heat the brandy in a ladle, ignite it and our over the crab mixture. When the flames have died down, add the chopped spinach, passata, wine, cayenne pepper and parsley. Season to taste with salt and black pepper then bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Near the end of the cooking time, add a little water if needed to thin the sauce.

Spoon the resultant mixture into the reserved crab sells and sprinkle ver the breadcrumbs. Dot with the butter, sit on a baking tray and place under a hot grill (broiler). Cook until the tops are golden brown (about 5 minutes) and serve immediately.