Crab 'em and eat 'em

photo Nelson Mail

Some things you may not know about crabs are that they walk sideways and can be found everywhere in the world. There are somewhere between 5000 to 7000 species of them, depending on which authority on the subject you read. They can be found in all the oceans of the world, as well as in fresh water and even on the land, particularly in tropical regions.

Crab make up 20 per cent of all marine crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with well over 1 million tonnes consumed annually.

As a result of their occurrence in so many places, they feature in the cuisine of many countries. Some crab is eaten whole, shell and all, such as soft-shell crab, while for other crab it is the claws and legs that are mainly eaten, along with as much meat as can be extracted under the shell.

Paddle crab is the species found in New Zealand on sandy beaches, estuaries and harbours. They are mostly active at night, when they move to tidal areas to feed. Females moult (hence soft-shell crab) and can mate only when in this state.

Local crab fishermen know how to avoid the moulting crab, as they are soft shelled in different areas at different times.

The crab fishery is managed in New Zealand by strict quotas and, normally, paddle crab is caught using baited traps or pots.

If you love the taste of crab or want to experiment, here is a daring method for catching them without a pot or trap.

Go to a beach such as Rabbit Island, or Torrent Bay or Awaroa in the Abel Tasman, at low tide, especially at a spring tide. Take a bucket and a rake and, with bare feet, walk out in the tide to the point where the sand becomes soft and squelchy under your feet (this may mean being up to the top of your legs in water - you need to have bare feet because you need to be able to feel the texture of the sand).

On reaching sand of the right texture, start raking in front of you. The crab will grab a hold of the rake with its claws. Swiftly lift the rake with crab attached and toss the crab into your bucket. Voila!

Other than this method, you need to rely on Guytons or supermarkets to stock crab for you.

Crab is caught commercially in the Nelson bays area throughout the year. Aqua Fresh (a local company) catches between 18 and 23 tonnes of crab a year and supplies supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

This means that crab could be available to us all in Nelson via our local supermarkets pretty much constantly, except when bad weather affects the catch. So it is up to us as consumers to let our supermarkets know that we want crab - it is there for the taking.

Currently, Nelson suppliers are requesting only limited orders, so our local crab travels around the country.

Other than in the whole, fresh, living form, you can obtain them whole, fresh and cooked, as fresh diced meat, as frozen diced meat and canned.

A crab worth eating will have its legs intact and will feel heavy. When you buy fresh crab, the legs should be moving, and if it is cooked, the legs should not be limp.

Crab is a great source of protein and has lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals. So it is well worth mastering the art of extracting the flesh from the shells.

To prepare crab meat, follow these steps. Learning how to do this will make your experience of crab much easier.

• First, kill the crab by either forcing a sharp knife through the indented spot just above the tail flap on its underside - this kills the crab instantly -
  
  or by putting it in boiling water.
• Cook it by boiling it for 10 minutes in a small amount of water. Rinse in cold water.
• Hold the back legs and with the crab facing you, lift the shell off. Then remove the gills.
• To extract the flesh, cut the crab in half with a sharp knife. Separate out the legs, claws and body and carefully extract the meat from each part of the body.

The flesh of the paddle crab is white, crisp, moist and delicious. It combines brilliantly with chilli and there are many recipes for chilli crab.
A recipe follows, along with another peppery version, salt and pepper crab. Crab cakes are also delicious and can be made using either fresh or canned crab.

Crab cakes
Ingredients:
500g of crab meat
1 red or green pepper
1 small red chilli
zest of 1 lime
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup of coconut, freshly grated or dried
1 tbsp of chickpea flour
a handful of chopped coriander or Italian parsley Combine the crab meat, diced peppers, lime zest, coconut, egg, flour and herbs, season with salt and shape into cakes. Chill for an hour to help them keep their shape.

Fry in a little hot oil until they are golden brown. Serve with a sauce made of 200ml of good-quality coconut milk, 3-4 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce, 1 kaffir lime leaf finely chopped, juice from a lime, two tsp of fish sauce and fresh coriander or parsley. Combine all the ingredients and gently simmer until well combined.

Salt and pepper crab
Ingredients:
1 crab per person, for up to six
50g of sea salt
50g of black peppercorns
6 spring onions
1 litre of oil

Pound the salt and pepper together in a mortar until fine.

Kill the crab and then remove the shell and wash thoroughly. Cut into quarters. Heat the oil in a wok until very hot and add the quartered crab. Fry for at least 5 minutes. Remove and drain. Remove the oil from the wok except for a little to refry the crab pieces along with a good spoonful of the salt and pepper mixture and the spring onions chopped finely. Fry until the crab is golden brown. Drain again. Serve with lots of fresh lime juice.

Chilli crab
Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic
4 hot chillies with the seeds (try using one chipotle chilli in this mix for an extra smoky flavour)
1 red onion
3-4 sprigs of mint
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 crab per person, for up to six

120g of coconut milkIn a food processor, blend the first five ingredients to make a paste. Heat a wok and add 2 tbsp of olive oil, add the paste and stir for a few minutes. Add quartered crab meat (as per the recipe for salt and pepper crab) and stir fry until the crab has turned orange. This will take 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the crab. Stir in the coconut milk and serve immediately the milk has warmed through.

The fruit of love

Photo: Rob Corlett

It looks all knobbly and gnarly, it's inedible when raw and it has long since been ripped out of most orchards. So why should we love the quince? Elizabeth Latham has the answer.

Those of us lucky enough to have a quince tree in our garden, or to have friends or neighbours who do (thank you Graham and Eileen Thawley), will know about the versatility and fragrance of the ancient yellow fruit.

Called the golden apple and once revered as the fruit of love, adored by the Greeks and Romans and used as a medicine for coughs in the Middle East, it has been much neglected in recent times in our part of the world. Even chopped out of orchard plots, it is now beginning to have a renaissance in terms of appreciation and use.

It is not a fruit to eat raw, although in this state it has a glorious fragrance and it makes an excellent room deodoriser should you need one.

Quinces are a food of Europe and trees can be found everywhere in the world that has a Mediterranean climate.

Quince paste is a staple in Europe and each country has its own name for it. In Spanish-speaking countries it is known as membrillo, and in France it is called cotignac.

Quince paste is outstanding with a strong cheese such as stilton or gorgonzola yet equally delicious with brie or a tasty cheddar. You can heat it and add spices to it, such as cinnamon or cloves, and use it as a marinade for pork or chicken.

Quinces are related to both apples and pears and should be picked as they turn from green to bright yellow. The fruit does not soften as it ripens and if it is soft, it is most likely rotten.

The raw fruit is astringent and hard, so cooking is essential. When it is cooked, the quince still has a strong perfume and is delicious added in small quantities to any dish containing apples and pears. When raw, particularly, the fruit has a gritty texture that is still a feature of it when cooked.

Once cooked, it changes to a deep ruby red. This colour change comes about from the tannins in the fruit breaking down during cooking and bonding with oxygen chemicals to form anthocyanins, the plant pigments that cause fruit to be red. Magic!

Photo: Nelson Mail

QUINCE JELLY

2kg of washed quinces
Sugar
Cold water

1. Roughly chop quinces and place in a large pot. Just cover them with cold water.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit is soft. Cool.
3. Place pulp in two layers of muslin set over a bowl. Leave hanging for about four hours.
4. Measure or weigh the quince juice and pour the measured juice into a large pot.
5. Add an equal amount of sugar to juice, ie, for every cup of juice, add a cup of sugar.
6. Cook over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, bring the syrup to the boil. Boil rapidly and continue to boil until set.
7. The setting point will vary. To test, put a spoonful of the mixture onto a chilled saucer and cool. The surface should set. Push it gently and if it wrinkles, it is ready.
8. Pour into sterilised, warm jars and seal tightly.

Photo: Marion van Dijk Nelson Mail


QUINCE PASTE OR MEMBRILLO
This Spanish recipe has a twist that makes it just a little more special than regular quince paste.

2 kg of quince, washed, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
1 vanilla pod, split
2 strips of lemon peel without the pith
3 Tbsp lemon juice

1. About 4 cups of sugarPlace quince pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Add the vanilla pod and lemon peel and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook the quince for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Strain the water from the quince and discard the vanilla pod.
3. Puree the quince pieces in a food processor. Weigh the quince puree. You will need to use the same amount of sugar.
4. Return the quince puree to the large pan. Slowly heat and add the sugar. Stir with a long wooden spoon until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the lemon juice.
5. Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours, until the quince paste is thick and a deep orange-pink colour. Watch yourself, as the mixture pops and you can easily burn yourself.
6. Preheat oven to about 50 degrees Celsius. Line a baking pan with greased baking paper. Pour the cooked quince paste into the baking pan and place in the oven for about an hour to help it dry. Remove from oven and let cool.
7. To serve, cut into squares or wedges. Store by wrapping in foil or plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator.
8. Add quince paste to just about anything.
9. Quince paste adds a tangy sweetness to sauces. It is particularly delicious with meats such as pork and duck. It is equally delicious with salmon. Add a tablespoon at a time and taste between spoonfuls. People will wonder what that secret flavour element is!

QUINCE AIOLI
Use this as an accompaniment to meat but also try it alongside a potato frittata.

250g quince paste
1 crushed clove of garlic
15ml rice bran oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon juice

1. Blend the paste and garlic in a food processor and slowly drizzle in the oil, blending continuously. Add salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice to taste.

SLOW-COOKED QUINCE
Serves 4

2 medium quince
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
1 clove
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 apple

1. Preheat oven to 120degC.
2. Peel and halve the quince. Carefully core the quince halves. Keep all the peel and trimmings. Combine the sugar, water, clove and lemon juice in a covered shallow baking dish. Whisk to dissolve the sugar. Add the quince halves, cut side down, and the trimmings. Coarsely grate a peeled apple over the quince halves. This will prevent the quince from drying out while baking.
3. Cover and bake for 5 to 7 hours until the fruit softens and turns pink or possibly even bright red! Serve with lashings of whipped cream.

Titi a la Fleur

For those intrigued by muttonbird but too timid to try it, Elizabeth Latham offers some encouragement to indulge in the pleasures of a deep-south delicacy.

If you enjoy sardines, anchovies and tuna then you will adore muttonbird. If you have been afraid to try it, it's time to take the leap.

It is muttonbird season now and once you know how to cook it, it will be a delicacy that you will embrace.

The English name muttonbird, given to titi, appears to have arisen from early-settler accounts in Norfolk Island where the meat was likened to mutton - not an association I would make, certainly not in terms of taste.

Titi is a bird and therefore has the flesh of a bird but the taste of fish, from the prestigious diet of fish, squid and shrimp-like krill that it feasts on during its migration from the breeding grounds of the southern hemisphere to the feeding grounds of the northern hemisphere and back again.

Titi is a seabird, the sooty shearwater, to be precise - a petrel hunted by humans for thousands of years. The harvesting of them is the domain of Rakiura Maori from Stewart Island. They have the rights to gather titi from the 36 islands known as the Titi islands, near Stewart Island. The season is from April 1 to May 21.

The sooty shearwater population worldwide is estimated at around 50 million (some accounts say 20 million, others 40 to 60 million) and they breed in New Zealand, Australia, South America and South Africa. New Zealand's breeding colony has an estimated five million pairs in 80 breeding colonies. There are claims of a diminishing population from climate change and birds becoming caught in the nets of commercial fishing operations, however the gathering of titi remains an annual ritual in the far south of this country.

Titi is available in retail outlets throughout New Zealand with about 250,000 birds harvested each year.

Young birds are harvested just as they are about to fledge. They are collected from burrows, plucked and often preserved in salt.

Guytons stock titi from the end of April. They sell for about $10 a bird. The birds are brined and will keep in this state for up to a year. The longer they spend in the brine the saltier they are and the longer the preparation time.

If you buy titi soon, you will only need to "wash" them a few times. If you are buying them later in the year you will need to wash them four to five times to get the salt level low enough to enjoy them.

Muttonbird isn't often served in restaurants but there is one place in the country you can go to and find titi regularly on the menu.

If you are lucky enough to be passing through Otago and you want a special treat, stop in Moeraki, a quintessential fishing village on the Pacific coast, and go to Fleur's Place.

Photo:Rob Corlett

Here you can experience cultural tourism at its best and be a guest of the amazing Fleur Sullivan. Fishermen come ashore in their boats right next to the restaurant and Fleur picks the fish only a few hours before it arrives on your plate. She also sources titi and this is her recipe - from her new book, Fleur's Place.

The recipe also explains how to prepare the bird. Later this year Fleur will be at NMIT with her chef, Simon Peacock, to prepare a degustation dinner based on regional seasonal food.

MUTTONBIRD WITH MAORI POTATOES AND SPINACH
2 salted muttonbirds
10 small Maori potatoes (or regular potatoes)
2 handfuls of native NZ spinach (or regular spinach)

• Place the muttonbirds in a large pot and cover with cold water. Slowly bring to the boil and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Taste the water. If it is overly salty, drain, refill with fresh cold water and repeat the process. The number of times you have to do this will depend on the amount of time the titi have been in brine.
• When the birds pass the salt test, simmer until the leg bone begins to give away from the flesh.
• Remove from the water and cool.
• Boil the potatoes until just tender. Place these in a roasting pan and place the boiled mutton bird on top.
• Grill or roast on a high heat until the skin begins to crisp and the potatoes roast in the mutton bird fat.
• Soften the spinach in the remaining fat just before serving and serve the dish with spinach oil (recipe follows).

SPINACH OIL
1 bunch of spinach, washed
1 bunch of sorrel leaves, washed
100ml sesame oil
500ml of olive oil
1 lemon, juiced

• Salt and pepper In a food processor, place the spinach and sorrel and process until smooth. Drizzle in both oils, add the lemon juice and season. Pass through a sieve and serve surrounding the mutton bird.

PHILLIP'S MUTTONBIRD MASH
This is a recipe that extends the flavour of muttonbird and allows a larger number of people to enjoy the experience. For 4 to 6 people.

500g swedes and potatoes for the mash
1-2 mutton birds

• Prepare the mutton bird as described in the Fleur recipe. Reserve the water from the last boil of the titi. After boiling the bird, open it up so it can be put flat under the grill. Grill until the skin turns golden. Remove the skin from the bird and reserve. When the bird has cooled enough to handle, cut the flesh from the bones and shred into small pieces.
• Meanwhile boil the swede and potato in the water from the titi. When cooked, mash with butter and milk and pepper to taste (you shouldn't need any salt).
• Mix the shredded titi through the mash. Serve on individual plates with watercress tossed in olive oil and lemon juice. Add a little crisp skin to each plate.
• A true entree from Aotearoa New Zealand.