Spider Crab & Buttered Samphire Panna Cotta

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 4 large spider crabs (2 kg each)
• 1 litre Millac Dairy Whipping Cream
• 175g Lakeland Dairies Butter
• 250g samphire
• 3 medium onions
• 2 medium carrots
• 5 sticks celery
• 7 large sheets of leaf gelatine
• 600g wild watercress
• 2 1/2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
• 1.2 litres hot water
• 7 lemons
• Foraged leaves to garnish (e.g. wild watercress, wood sorell, lemon balm, wild chervil)
• Salt & white pepper

Method

Plunge live crabs into boiling water for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.

Remove and set aside the brown crab meat. Remove as much white meat as possible from the legs and claws and refrigerate.

Add the remaining shells, legs and brown meat with the 2 onions, carrots and celery to 2 litres of boiling water and reduce on a simmer by two thirds. Strain through a sieve to make shellfish stock.

In a separate saucepan prepare the panna cotta by bringing to the boil 900ml Millac Dairy Whipping Cream and the juice of 3 lemons. Reduce by one fifth before allowing to cool.

Sauté coarsely chopped samphire in the Lakeland Dairies Butter for 3 minutes.

To the cooled panna cotta mixture, add the white crab meat, samphire, chopped tarragon and dissolved gelatine. Season to taste before spooning into  10 ramekins and leaving to set.

Sweat the remaining onion before adding the watercress and sweating for a further 30 seconds.

Transfer to a food processor, pour in the hot water and liquidise.

Add the juice of 4 lemons and remaining 100ml of Millac Dairy Whipping Cream. Season to taste and refrigerate.

Immerse the ramekins in hot water to remove panna cottas. Turn onto a tray before placing on plates.

Pour the chilled watercress velouté into shot glasses and place on a plate next to each panna cotta. Garnish with foraged leaves.