This recipe is full of natural flavours
of impeccable quality: crab mayonnaise, a little tomato and basil and the
bloody Mary vinaigrette – a little twist on the morning-after cocktail. The
delicious, pure-white crabmeat, with the added freshness of the citrus zest,
dill and cucumber, gives it a permanent place in our Harome Hall of Fame.

Serves 4




■ 400g (13oz) white crabmeat


■ 100g (31⁄2oz) cucumber


■ Zest 1 lemon


■ 25g (1oz) dill


■ 2 tbsp mayonnaise


■ 100g (31⁄2oz) mixed
green herbs


(parsley, lovage, chives and dill)


■ A little olive oil


■ 1 tbsp tomato purée


■ 2 tsp tomato sauce


■ 25ml (1fl oz) vodka


■ Few drops Tabasco


■ 2 plum tomatoes


■ Salt and pepper


■ 6 basil leaves


■ Mixed salad leaves

Sieve the crab meat to ensure
that all the shell has been removed. Squeeze any excess water from the crab by
wrapping it in a clean towel. Quarter the cucumber lengthways and remove the
seeds. Chop very finely, again squeezing out any excess water, and add to the
crab along with the lemon zest and the chopped dill. Bind with just enough of
the mayonnaise to bring the mixture together. Season to taste.


To make the green herb mayonnaise


Blitz the herbs with just enough
olive oil to make a purée. Add the herb purée to the remaining mayonnaise and
mix.


For the bloody Mary dressing


Mix the tomato purée, tomato
sauce, vodka and Tabasco. Feel free to alter the amount of vodka and Tabasco to
taste.


To assemble, lay three overlapping slices of tomato,
seasoned with salt and pepper, in the middle of each plate, topped with
a few torn basil leaves. Put the salad leaves on top of the basil. Shape
the crabmeat into rounds and place it on top of the salad leaves. Dress the
plate with alternate dots of green herb mayonnaise and the bloody Mary
dressing. Serve immediately.