Crab salad with magnolia and sorrel

My favorite season is finally here and the magnolia tree outside is full in bloom. That’s why I decided to make a delicious dish in combination with a crab salad, a sorrel espuma (foam) and pommes soufflé. All great recipes, so enjoy guys!

The magnolia gel

50 grams	magnolia peddles
200 grams	white wine vinegar
100 grams	white wine
100 grams	sugar
3 grams	salt
0.5 stick	lemongrass
2	lime leaves
1 gram	gelen powder
2 grams	agar powder

First wash the magnolia peddles in some cold water. After that transfer them into a preserving jar. Then pour the white wine vinegar into a saucepan together with the white wine, the sugar and the salt. Now chop the lemongrass and add it to the saucepan together with the lime leaves. Bring this to a boil. Once it has boiled pour it on the magnolia peddles. Then close it up and let it marinade for 24 hours in your fridge. After that pass 200 grams of the liquid into a saucepan together with the gellan powder and the agar powder. Then mix it and bring it to a boil. Now pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it into a smooth gel. Once it’s smooth transfer it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later.

The crab salad

Turn the crab around and insert a chefs knife into the head to quickly kill it. Then twist of the claws and the legs. Keep those separate from each other. Keep the head and all the trimmings for later. Now bring a pan of water to a boil and season it with a generous amount of salt. Then boil the legs for 2 minutes. Once cooked cool them down in ice water. Boil the claws for 4 minutes for small once, 5 minutes for medium size ones and 6 minutes for big ones. I boil these for 5 minutes. Once the claws have cooled down completely separate the claw from the carpus. Then twist of the finger and use the back of a knife to break the claw. Take out the meat and be sure to remove both swords. Then use the back of a spoon to remove the meat from the carpus. After that take the legs and separate the top from the bottom. Keep all the trimmings for later. Now cut of the closed end. Then take the legs and use a tweezer to press out the meat. Now gently press the crab meat with your fingers to check for small parts of shell and then keep the crab meat in your fridge for later.

The crab reduction

	The crab head & trimmings
4	onions
1 bulb	garlic
300 grams	white wine
2 sprigs	tarragon

Take the head and open it up. Then remove the death man’s fingers and throw those away. Now chop it in big pieces. Then cut the onions in half and remove the skin. Now chop them. Also cut the garlic in half. Then heat up a big pot, add a splash of oil and fry the crab trimmings on a high heat till it starts to color. This takes 5 minutes or so. After that add the onions and the garlic and heat it for 5 more minutes. Then add the white wine and reduce this for 90%. Now submerge it completely with water. Also add the tarragon and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Then pass it through a fine sieve and reduce on a low heat until it’s a deep and rich reduction. Now let it cool down completely.

The crab cream & salad

40 grams	crab reduction
2 grams	salt
30 grams	egg yolk
10 grams	lime juice
130 grams	neutral oil

Pour the crab reduction into a blender and also add the salt, the egg yolk, the lime juice and the neutral oil. Spin it to emulsify it into a nice cream. Now pour it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later.

Then take 1 apple and peel it. Now cut it into small cubes. Those are called brunoise. Now add the zest from half a lime. Then cut the zested part off and add the juice to the apple. Mix this. Transfer two parts of the crab meat into a bowl and add 1 part of the apple brunoise. Now also add the crab cream and just a pinch of salt. The cream is already very powerful, so be careful with seasoning. Keep it in your fridge for later.

The sorrel foam

350 grams	onions
70 grams	sorrel
200 grams	fish broth
10 grams	lime juice
35 grams	cold espuma powder
4 grams	salt

First cut the onions in half and remove the skin. Then chop it. Now heat up a pan, add a splash of oil and glaze the onions on the lowest heat. Meanwhile transfer the sorrel into a blender together with the fish broth and the lime juice. Now blend it till smooth. Once it’s smooth pass it through a fine sieve. Transfer the pulp onto a silicon sheet and spread it. Then dry it at 50 degrees Celsius. This takes around 5 hours. Now transfer 200 grams of the glazed onions into a measuring jar together with 200 grams of the sorrel liquid, the cold espuma powder and the salt. Blend this till it’s completely smooth. Once it’s smooth pass it through a fine sieve using a ladle. Then pour it into a syphon and charge it with 2 charges. Shake it well after each charge and then let it set for at least 30 minutes in your fridge.

The pommes soufflé

Take the dried sorrel and transfer it into a blender. Blend it into a fine powder. Then take 1 big waxy potato and peel it. Now cut it into thin slices on a mandolin and lay those slices besides each other in 4 rows on your worktop. Dust 2 rows with potato starch and remove any excess powder with a brush. Add a thin layer of egg white on the remaining slices. Now put the potato slices on top of each other with the egg white side facing the potato starch side. Then cut it with a cutter. I’ll put a link in the description where I bought mine. Now remove the trimmings and deep fry them at 170 degrees Celsius till golden. Once you’ve put them in the fat directly start basing them with the hot fat. Let them cool down on some kitchen paper and then cover them with the sorrel powder.

Now we can start to finish the dish

First put 2 tablespoons of the crab salad into the cutter. Remove the cutter and pipe a couple of dots of the crab cream and the magnolia gel on the salad. Then decorate it with pea cress, parsley cress, magnolia peddles and apple blossom. Now take the pommes souffle and make a small hole in the middle. Fill it completely with the sorrel foam. Now place it on the salad and then it’s ready to be served.