• Preheat combi oven to 180°C, 100% extraction, fan level 1
• Pre-chill the blast chiller

Mud Crab Meat

• Fill a 10L stock pot with water and cover with lid. Bring to the boil over high heat.

Pancetta and Lemon Salt

• Prepare a baking rack sitting in a baking tray.
• Place the pancetta onto the rack. Place in the 180°C pre-heated combi oven and cook until well browned and crisp, approximately 12 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and place pancetta on paper towel to drain.
• Change the setting of the combi oven to 90°C, steam, fan level 2.

Crab Stock

• Rinse crabs then remove the back shell, the gills (dead man fingers) and any roe and discard.
• Using a meat mallet, smash the remaining crab into pieces breaking up all the claws.
• In a 10L stock pot over high heat, add the oil. When very hot, add the crabs and sauté.
• Add the butter and cook for 5 minutes or until nicely roasted.
• Cut the onion, carrot and celery into 2cm pieces. Add to the crab and continue to roast for 5 minutes.
• Add the thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns and tomato paste, sauté for 2 minutes then deglaze with the brandy and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the fish stock and bring to the boil.
• Carefully transfer boiling stock to pressure cooker. Set to Chicken/Duck setting (high pressure) and a cook time of 90 minutes.

Pea Purée

• Prepare an ice bath in a medium sized bowl.
• Place a medium saucepan on medium heat, add the butter and once foaming, add the eschalots, garlic and thyme and sauté until soft.
• Add the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the peas and cook for approximately 2 minutes or until peas float to the surface and are just cooked and tender.
• Strain the peas, reserving the liquid. Remove the thyme sprigs.
• Place the peas into a Thermomix jug, add 200g of the cooking liquid and blend for 2 minutes on speed 10 until smooth.
• Pass through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and place over the ice bath to chill immediately.

Crab Meat (contd.)

• Once stock pot of water is boiling add a handful of sea salt to the water to season.
• Add the crab and when the water returns to the boil, cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove mud crabs from water, set aside and allow to cool at room temperature

Royale Mix

• Place 500g pea purée into a bowl, add the eggs, yolk, cream and seasoning and whisk together, without incorporating too much air.
• Pass the purée through a fine sieve. Transfer into a large metal bowl with high sides and place in commercial vacuum machine.
• Run through a vacuum cycle, stopping the cycle as it swells up and before it overflows. Repeat process, if needed, until you can complete a full cycle without the purée overflowing. Texture should be smooth and free of air bubbles.
• Pour 90g purée into each of the 5 serving bowls. Carefully cover each bowl tightly with commercial cling film, ensuring no steam can get inside.
• Place on gastro trays and steam at 90°C for approximately 20 minutes, ensuring each royale is set through but not over-cooked. It should wobble like custard but be firm enough to resist when gently touched in the centre.
• Remove from the oven, discard cling film and place the royales in blast chiller for 15 minutes to cool.
• Remove from the blast chiller, cover with cling film and transfer to the fridge until required.

Fresh Peas

• Place a medium saucepan of water on heat, when boiling add salt to season.
• Add the peas and cook for approximately 3 ½ minutes or until tender.
• Prepare an ice bath.
• Remove peas and place in iced water.
• Peel the skin, and remove any sprouts, from at least 90 peas. Split in half, to get 180 halves.
• Set aside at room temperature for serving.

Consommé

• Once the stock has cooked for 90 minutes, release pressure on the pressure cooker.
• Remove pot and strain the crab stock through a large chinois into a 7L saucepan, you should have approximately 2.5L. Discard crab and vegetables.
• Place pan over high heat and reduce by 1/3, skimming occasionally, for approximately 30 minutes.

Mussels

• De-beard the mussels by pulling the hairy strand towards the hinge of the mussel.
• Place a medium sized pot with a lid on high heat. When hot, add at least 15 mussels, eschalots and thyme in the pot, add the wine and place a lid on.
• Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, or until the mussels are open. Strain.
• Remove the cooked mussels from their shells and set aside in the fridge.
• Set up and pre-heat deep fryer to 180°C. Set aside on bench until required.

Pancetta and Lemon Salt

• Finely zest lemon and weigh out 1g, discard remainder.
• Place crispy pancetta into a spice grinder with the lemon zest and sea salt and blend until fine. Set aside in a small bowl at room temperature.

Mayonnaise

• Place the yolks, vinegar, mustard and salt in a food processor, process until foamy.
• Slowly drizzle the oil through the lid in a steady stream to create a thick emulsion.
• Remove from the processor, add sea salt to season if required.
• Transfer into two small piping bags, placing the remainder in a container with a lid. Reserve in the fridge until required.

Consommé (contd.)

• Once reduced by 1/3, pour stock into a deep gastro tray, transfer to the blast chiller and allow the stock to cool for approximately 5-6 minutes to 50°C.
• Meanwhile, make the raft. Roughly chop the eschalots, carrot and leek and transfer to a food processor.
• Add the chicken breast and pulse until finely chopped.
• Place the egg whites in a separate medium bowl, whisk until starting to foam, then add the processed ingredients to the whites and whisk together.
• Remove the cooled stock from the blast chiller, pour into a 2.5L saucepan and add the raft to the cooled stock. Mix through well.
• Place the stock on a medium low heat, bring to a gentle simmer and use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick.
• Once the raft coagulates and comes together, be careful not to break the raft.
• Make a small hole in the raft. Keep simmering gently to cook the raft and remove any impurities from the stock.
• Cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until consommé is clear and the raft is strong and holding together tightly.

Crab Meat (contd.)

• Remove the back shell of the crab, the gills (dead man fingers) and any roe and discard.
• Remove all the meat from the body and claws. Drain any excess liquid remaining in the picked crab meat.
• In a small bowl, carefully pick through the crab to remove any shell. You will need at least 200g of picked crab meat.
• Add 6g of Mayonnaise to just bind the crab meat.
• Using a pair of sharp kitchen scissors, very finely snip tarragon leaves into crab meat and mix through to combine.
• Taste for seasoning, weigh and divide evenly into 5 small bowls. Set aside in the fridge ready to plate.

Batter

• Place self-raising flour, plain flour and cornflour in a bowl. Add the beer slowly whilst whisking to bind. Set aside in the fridge until required.
• Using kitchen scissors, trim the black fringe/lip from each mussel.
• In a small bowl of plain flour, lightly coat the mussels, shaking off the excess flour before adding to the batter.
• Deep fry at 180°C for approximately 2 minutes. Continue frying mussels until you have 10 pieces.
• Remove from the fryer, drain on paper towel.
• Season with Pancetta & Lemon Salt and set aside in a small paper towel lined bowl.

Consommé (contd.)

• Place doubled up oil filter cones in a chinois and set over a jug.
• Once the stock has clarified, avoiding the raft, carefully ladle the stock and strain into the jug.
• Reserve jug in fridge to chill until required.

To Serve (per plate x 5 plates)

• Remove Royale from fridge. Wipe inner rim with wet paper towel to remove any residue if required.
• Leaving very small gaps in between for the Mayonnaise, place halved peas around the inside edge of the serving bowl on the surface of the Royale.
• Cut a very small tip from the piping bag of Mayonnaise. Pipe a ring of dots in between each pea half.
• Place a 6cm ring mould on a clean board or tray and fill with crab meat and flatten. Using the caviar spoon, add the caviar and smooth over the top.
• Using a flat metal spatula, carefully transfer the ring of Crab and Caviar and place in the centre of the Royale.
• Remove mould. Repeat with remaining 4 plates of Royale.
• Make a small nest of sea spray in the centre of caviar and place the Fried Mussels on top.
• Remove Consommé from fridge, skim any fat that has risen to surface and transfer 250g of Consommé into large serving jug.
• At the table, carefully pour 50g of Consommé into the centre of each dish.