Crab and Samphire Tart
This pastry tart with delicate crab and salty samphire would make a delicious addition to any picnic or summer spread. Taken from the quiche chapter of Barney Desmazery’s One Dish, Four Ways; the book offers seasonal spins on classic recipes. If you love this crab and samphire version, pick up the book to try his spring, autumn and winter quiche recipes.
Introduction
This one’s dedicated to my BFF (best forager friend), Carmarthenshire coastal foraging expert Craig Evans, who I thank for letting me experience the sweetest crab and freshest samphire, and for being so generous with his time and knowledge. Craig and I agree (as do most people whose opinion I care for) on preferring crab to lobster. This tart celebrates British crab and means none of the often-overlooked brown meat goes to waste. It brings depth to the filling, while the white meat is kept intact and scattered on top, and everything is seasoned with the salty crunch of samphire, which if you can’t find, you can simply leave out or use spring onions.
Ingredients
| 1 quantity of | basic pastry (see below), or 500g (1lb 2oz) block of shop-bought pastry |
| plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting | |
| For the filling | |
|---|---|
| 300ml (10fl oz/1¼ cups) | double (heavy) cream |
| 3 | eggs |
| pinch of | salt |
| pinch of | cayenne pepper |
| zest and juice of | ½ unwaxed lemon |
| 200g (7oz) | brown crab meat |
| 300g (10½oz) | white crab meat |
| 50g (13/4oz) | samphire, woody ends trimmed (or you can use finely chopped spring onions/scallions instead), plus extra for serving |
| For 1 quantity of basic pastry (makes 23cm/10in tart) | |
| 250g (9oz/2 cups) | plain (all-purpose) flour |
| good pinch of | salt |
| 140g (5oz) | cold butter, diced |
| 1 | egg |
Method
If making your own pastry: Tip the flour into a mixing bowl with a good pinch of salt. Tip in the butter and use your fingertips to rub it in until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Crack in the egg and stir it through with a cutlery knife or fork until the dough starts to clump together. Bring it into a ball using your hands, then tip it onto a surface and knead it a few times until it all comes together. The pastry can also be made in a food processor, pulsing the ingredients together.
Once made, flatten the dough into a disc. It can now be used straight away, although it might be a bit soft; if so, wrap it and chill for 30 minutes before rolling out.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it’s big enough to line a 23cm (9in) fluted tart tin with some overhang. Roll the pastry around your rolling pin, then unravel it to drape over the tart tin. Lift and tuck the pastry into the tart tin and use a piece of pastry offcut to press it neatly into the corners. Chill for up to 2 days if you want.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.Sit the tart tin on a baking sheet, and prick the base of the pastry with a fork, line with baking parchment and cover with baking beans. Bake blind for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans, then bake for 10 minutes until golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.
While the tart bakes, make the filling by whisking the cream and eggs together with the salt, the cayenne, and lemon zest and juice, then stir in the brown crab meat and mix until as smooth as possible. Scatter the white crab meat over the base of the tart case, along with most of the samphire or spring onion, keeping a few sprigs back for the top. Pour the custard around the crab, then scatter over the remaining samphire or spring onion. Bake the tart for 25–30 minutes or until the custard is just set with the slightest wobble in the centre. Leave to cool before trimming the overhang, removing from the tart tin and slicing. Serve scattered with more samphire, if you want.
MAKE AHEAD: The pastry case and filling can both be made a day ahead and kept chilled separately. Assemble and bake on the day. Any leftovers are great cold the next day with a sharp herb salad or pickled cucumber.
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