0:00:02 > 0:00:07- Some of the best British produce is under threat.- At the mercy of foreign invaders.- And food fashion.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12- Produce around for centuries. - Could die out within a generation.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15- So together we're on a mission. - To save it!
0:00:15 > 0:00:19We'll tell you how to find it, grow it and cook it.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24- And put sensational British produce. - Back on the food map.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00So we live on an island, we're surrounded by sea
0:01:00 > 0:01:05and in that sea is the most amazing British crab, but we hardly eat it.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09I want to find out why the British public aren't eating enough of it.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14'I'm Angela Hartnett and I'm passionate about reviving the fortune of the British crab.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19'It's baffling why we export over half our yearly catch of this creature.'
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Don't you just want to eat the lovely white and brown meat?
0:01:22 > 0:01:26'I'll reveal some of the best places to catch crab.' Ahoy there!
0:01:26 > 0:01:30'Meeting people who love crab as much as me.'
0:01:30 > 0:01:34You don't have sex just the one way, so come on, be adventurous!
0:01:34 > 0:01:37'Finding out how to make it supermarket-friendly.'
0:01:37 > 0:01:43- By pasteurising it, how long does that increase its shelf life for? - From four days to 14.
0:01:43 > 0:01:49'And the bit I really love - cooking. I'll show you three deliciously simple suppers,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52'including an amazing spider crab gratin.'
0:01:52 > 0:01:58Fantastic at a dinner party. Everyone loves the crab. They think you're the cleverest chef around.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08My first memories of crab were the little jars of crab paste that you used to have in sandwiches.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12It was only when I started becoming a chef later in life
0:02:12 > 0:02:17that I realised how the original... and most amazing flavour you get from these crabs.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21And recently, my most amazing taste sensation was down in Cornwall
0:02:21 > 0:02:25where we had fantastic crab baguettes with lovely white wine.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29On the beach, just eating that, you can't ask better.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33'Shockingly, only about 5% of us have even tried crab,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'so exactly what have we got against this tasty crustacean?'
0:02:36 > 0:02:40- Can I ask you something? Do you eat crab?- No.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45- And you, madam?- No, thank you. - You don't like it?- No. - You haven't tried it.- No, thank you.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49- Go on, try a bit.- Is it live? - Yes, it is live. Pick it up.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53- I don't want to.- You don't want to. Why not?- Because it looks awful.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55But you're eating the meat.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01- It looks like a coconut. Is it alive?- Yes. That is a fantastic spider crab.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06- They're like giant spiders.- I'm a bit arachnophobic. They freak me out.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11- If you got a crab on your plate, would that freak you out? - Yeah, that would freak me out.
0:03:12 > 0:03:18'So most of us don't like the look of it, but if I'm going to get to the bottom
0:03:18 > 0:03:22'of why we aren't eating enough crab, there is only one place to go
0:03:22 > 0:03:25'and that's London's seafood market in the heart of the east end.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:30We're here at Billingsgate, which is always good fun, about six in the morning.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36If anyone knows why we're not eating crabs and what we need to do to make sure we eat crabs, it's these guys.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43'Here taste definitely comes before looks, but appearance isn't the only problem crab has,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47'as it's traditionally sold live to guarantee freshness.'
0:03:47 > 0:03:51- I don't want to see them moving about.- They're not so bad.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- Many people are like that, because it moves.- That puts people off.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01'And even the cooked ones need to be picked and dressed, something our busy schedules don't allow for.'
0:04:01 > 0:04:06- People are lazy now. Everything is for convenience. - No-one wants to do the work.
0:04:06 > 0:04:12'So we're missing out on one of the healthiest, tastiest, most abundant meats our shores have to offer.'
0:04:12 > 0:04:18We're like the largest producers of crab in Europe, so why aren't the British eating it?
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The Europeans, generally, are bigger consumers of shellfish than we are.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25That's just bonkers. It doesn't make sense.
0:04:25 > 0:04:31If you go back 20, 30 years, there used to be a shellfish stall outside most pubs.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35- So you could have crab every day? - Crabs, cockles, eels.
0:04:35 > 0:04:41- That's the tragedy. We export to Spain, France and Italy and we're not eating it here.- No.
0:04:41 > 0:04:47But why aren't the British cooking more of the fresh ones? Stick it in a little pot of water - easy.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53- The British people are not fish-eating people.- How do I get the British public eating more crab?
0:04:53 > 0:04:57- What are your suggestions? - Just say to 'em, "Come on, guys.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02"You don't have sex just the one way, so come on, be adventurous!"
0:05:02 > 0:05:08- I'm going to tell them to come to you.- Come and see us. Crab's terrific. It's lovely.
0:05:08 > 0:05:14'So where did it go wrong and how do we rekindle our love affair with this mouth-watering meat?'
0:05:14 > 0:05:20We don't eat enough crab now, but years ago, we were eating tons of the stuff. What happened?
0:05:20 > 0:05:24For example, in 1861, at the old Billingsgate Market, in one year,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28600,000 live crabs were actually sold.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30600,000? That's an incredible amount.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35- It's nothing like that nowadays. - What's changed our eating habits?
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It's just getting hold of the crab.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44In the old days, people would shop more at their fishmonger or a local market where products were available.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Nowadays, most of us, about 85% of us get our shellfish in the supermarkets.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54- How many times have you seen crab in a supermarket? - What about health benefits?
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Crab are good for us because of high levels of long-chain omega-3 acids.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01How much crab are we eating in this country?
0:06:01 > 0:06:07Despite the fact that we land nearly 25,000 tonnes and it's the sixth most important fishery in the UK
0:06:07 > 0:06:12and the UK fleet lands over half of the entire European catch, it doesn't even make the top ten.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17So on holiday, we're eating crab, that we could be buying up the road,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- for twice the price? Something's wrong.- Absolutely right.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26'The message is clear. Everyone is in love with British crab, except us Brits.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30'So we need to stop being afraid and start eating more of it.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:36I'm going to cook a really simple crab dish. It's easy to make. You've all eaten it at restaurants.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45When you buy your crab, you want to make sure it's at its freshest,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49which means buying it live and dispatching it yourself.
0:06:49 > 0:06:55As an alternative, you can buy whole cooked crab from your fishmonger and pick the meat at home instead.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Start by removing the shell from your cooked crab.
0:06:59 > 0:07:05Take it from the back and just literally push up, so you start to pull away the crab from its shell.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10OK, remove its claws, which is where you'll find all the white meat.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14And then all the little claws here.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19Gently just pull them away like so from the body of the crab.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Here you have what they call dead man's fingers.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28These are the crab gills and they are grey and shrivelled. You shouldn't eat them.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Inside this part of the crab, you've got all the lovely brown crab meat.
0:07:32 > 0:07:39But it's the sweet white meat I'm after for my crab cakes and most of that is found in the claws.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Just slightly crack them
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and again, a little bash there.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49Think of someone you hate at the moment when you're banging it.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55Then scrape out all that flaky white meat, making sure you get into all those hard-to-reach places.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Just use the back of the spoon and pull away all the crab meat like so.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05But if all this looks too much like hard work,
0:08:05 > 0:08:10you can ask your fishmonger to do it for you. But I say give it a go.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Some people get very nervous about it, but there's nothing better than being at the beach
0:08:15 > 0:08:22and really tucking into crab like this. Loads of lemon juice, touch of mayonnaise and you're away.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24OK, a final little one here.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Don't throw any shells away.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34You can make them into soup or into bisque. They're great to make a little crab sauce.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39Once you've picked all the meat, check for any sneaky bits of shell.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45Tip a little bit out each time, then with your fingers, just literally go through it like that.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49And that's it. It's dead easy really.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53So is turning it into crab cakes.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57All you need to do is blitz up some spring onion, ginger and chilli.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00They're all going to be used to spice it up.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03And add it to the crab meat.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07It's the most simple dish ever. Just mix that all together like that.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And throw in some fresh coriander.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16If you don't want to use coriander, basil is another nice herb that you can add to it as well.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Then it's in with some whisked egg, some salt and pepper...
0:09:21 > 0:09:26..and breadcrumbs to help bind it, and you're ready to roll.
0:09:26 > 0:09:32Classic American dish. When we had a restaurant in the States, everyone wanted to eat crab cakes.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37They love them. And we should make them such a thing on our menus over here.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Then we're just going to pat them down.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Just like so, about half an inch thick.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48The smell is absolutely delicious. How simple is that?
0:09:48 > 0:09:54All they need now is a crisp breadcrumb coating, held in place with a bit of flour and egg.
0:09:54 > 0:10:01The first thing you need to do is dip the crab into the flour or do them two at a time.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Great little job to do with kids.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08They like dipping their hands in loads of nonsense and it's perfect to do that.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11You can even at this stage freeze them.
0:10:11 > 0:10:17When you bring them out to cook them, make sure they've defrosted overnight in a fridge.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Then simply fry them in olive oil.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24You just want to lightly move them around,
0:10:24 > 0:10:29just so they get a nice, even golden brown colour.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33And when they're gorgeous and crispy on both sides,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37get them on to a tray and into the oven to warm through.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44Oh, God, they look amazing, absolutely delicious. They've been in for about ten minutes.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49Put your spoon in the end. Go straight into the centre and bring it to your lips.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53It feels hot, so you know they're thoroughly cooked through.
0:10:53 > 0:11:00All these need now is a spoonful of sweet chilli jam, a fresh green salad and a slice of lemon.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04A little bit of olive oil on your salad, just a drizzle,
0:11:04 > 0:11:09and we're going to put two of the crab cakes straight on like so.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12And a squeeze of lemon as well.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17So all finished.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20They look absolutely amazing. I'm sure they taste amazing.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22I'll just tuck in here.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27You can see straight away that fantastic crab there. Beautiful.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Hmm!
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Why are we getting rid of this stuff abroad?
0:11:34 > 0:11:36It tastes amazing, so simple to do.
0:11:36 > 0:11:42It's full of the flavours of the sea. They're delicious, even if I say so myself.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51'No attempt to revive the British crab would be worth its salt without a trip to the seaside,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55'so I'm off to Swanage on the Dorset coast
0:11:55 > 0:12:01'to find out more from a fisherman whose family have been catching crab for five generations.'
0:12:01 > 0:12:05I'm just waiting for Jeff who you can see just coming in now.
0:12:05 > 0:12:11I've eaten nothing this morning because when I go on a boat, I normally throw up.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17'Jeff Lander catches brown crab for the British market and spider crab which he exports abroad.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21'He is one of only a few full-time crab fishermen left in the area.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:25- Hi, Jeff.- Hi, Angela.- I feel like the Queen!- There's your life-jacket.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30'It's a dying trade and one we need to support, seasickness or not.'
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Ahoy there, sailor!
0:12:33 > 0:12:36'Jeff uses a baited potting system
0:12:36 > 0:12:41'and, thanks to checking and re-baiting his 500 pots six days a week,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44'has a fine pair of sea legs unlike me.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:50I'm gripping Jeff with all my might because I feel we're like this.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Explain what's going on, Jeff.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56We're going to lift the pots up. We're going to empty the crabs out.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00And you've got all these pots attached to one another?
0:13:00 > 0:13:05- They're all attached. - How many do you have in one line? - In one line, there's 30.- OK.
0:13:05 > 0:13:11- You've got to be careful.- That one's going back in.- That one's small anyway, so he can go back.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17'Jeff pulls in 100 to 150 kilos of brown crab a day during peak season
0:13:17 > 0:13:23'and like all good fishermen, throws the small ones back to protect future stocks and his livelihood.'
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- That's a good crab. - Those ones are all too small.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- That one's all right. - This poor little bubba, back in.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36'And size isn't the only factor as crab shed their shells as part of their growth cycle.'
0:13:36 > 0:13:40- When you say it's a soft shell, it feels soft?- It's a new-shell crab.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- It's shed its old shell and it's going to regrow?- Yeah.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49- It's regrown and now it takes time to harden.- Right, OK. So it's not at peak condition.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- This is a better crab.- That looks great. That's nice and hard.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- Can we take that home to eat? - You can take that one home to eat.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Perfect.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03'Now I've got my tea sorted, I'm hoping we can head back to shore.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07'But the crabs keep on coming and not just the brown crabs.'
0:14:07 > 0:14:13- That's a female spider crab.- Wow! How many of those do you get?- At this time of the year, not that many.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17It's a summertime thing - May through to August, September.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20'And we eat even less spider crab than brown crab,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24'despite them being common to our shores. It's sickening really.'
0:14:24 > 0:14:29- Are you all right, Angela? - Yeah, yeah. It'd just be good to turn around now.
0:14:29 > 0:14:35We've done that. Been crab-fishing. Tick that box. Don't need to do that again, thanks very much.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I don't want to vomit on the crabs!
0:14:38 > 0:14:43'Back on dry land and a little less green around the gills, I'm off to meet a man
0:14:43 > 0:14:48'who cooks up a staggering 90 crabs a day in the summer.'
0:14:48 > 0:14:50You'd like these to eat now?
0:14:50 > 0:14:53'Mick Storer has been dishing up crab for 28 years
0:14:53 > 0:14:57'and will show me a few trade secrets with these cooked crabs.'
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- Take the legs off first?- No.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04I turns him round, puts my thumbs on the back, pushes it and he opens up. Tickety-boo!
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Oh, I've got no strength!
0:15:07 > 0:15:09You can do it any way you like.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14Yeah, I'm really useless. Then bring that all out like that. Wow!
0:15:14 > 0:15:18'Mick knows everything about the gills or dead man's fingers.'
0:15:18 > 0:15:23- Do they think they're poisonous? - Yeah. It depends on where they've been feeding.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- So they could be.- Depending on the clarity of their water.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30'And has prepping crab down to a fine art.'
0:15:30 > 0:15:32And then a simple trick.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37If you put your finger close to all the legs and pull at once...
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Oh, I did that one perfectly.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- All the meat comes out in one go. - Oh, yeah.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47- You haven't got to pick it out. - Very good.- You've just saved yourself a few minutes.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50I love your top tips there, Mick.
0:15:50 > 0:15:56Then we're going to dress the crab in the classic English way. You've got all the brown meat there.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00All the brown meat on the bottom. Just pop the white meat on top.
0:16:00 > 0:16:06- You just leave it all there because you've taken all the rubbish bits out.- This is the way you eat it.
0:16:06 > 0:16:13- Fantastic.- 'It's a favourite with his customers too. At under £5 a head, it's cheaper than fish and chips.'
0:16:13 > 0:16:17So that's my lunch. You're an officer and a gentleman. Beautiful.
0:16:17 > 0:16:23- You can't get better than that - beautiful British crab.- Bottle of wine, tickety-boo!- Beautiful.
0:16:24 > 0:16:30It's been a fantastic experience from fishing the crabs to cooking them and now eating them.
0:16:30 > 0:16:36And the flavour is second to none without having to do too much to it, except prep it.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41One of the best things about today that I've learnt is the abundance of it.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45I've always naively thought that we didn't have loads of crab.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49We have loads of crab, but we're exporting them.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53We have to make sure it's coming straight to us, not going abroad.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'And there's plenty more we can do with it.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Just to show how versatile crab is,
0:16:59 > 0:17:04I'm going to do the most amazing crab linguine.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09To start off, season our water with rock salt. Make sure it's nice and boiling.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Just straight away, add your linguine in.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18I prefer dried to fresh linguine and cook it for seven to eight minutes to retain its al dente bite,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21which is more than enough time to make my sauce.
0:17:21 > 0:17:27Just to start off, we're going to put quite a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pan.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30And add some full-on flavours,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32starting with garlic, about a clove.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Cut your knife through it very lightly.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38And for heat, some de-seeded red chilli.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Chilli is fantastic with crab.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46It really enhances the flavour without overkill and making it too spicy.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49So that straight in the pan like so.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51And I want some fragrant herbs.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Some fresh flat-leaf parsley and some lovely, fresh basil.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59All these lovely, fresh herbs are great with crab.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03They really enhance the flavour, basil especially.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06You've got the sweetness of the basil and of the crab.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11We got this fantastic crab here from Jeff down in Swanage, down in Dorset.
0:18:11 > 0:18:18He's one of the few left in this country, so we need to start getting these guys back out on the sea.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23That means eating more delicious British crab meat which is hardly a hardship.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26We'll deglaze it with a bit of white wine.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31Put a little bit of salt in with our crab here, a little bit of black pepper.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Add our spring onions in.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Along with a little bit of lemon zest just to give it that freshness.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42And that's it. It's dead simple.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47This dish works as a main course for two people or for four as a starter.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52When we put it on at the restaurant, people absolutely go mad for crab linguine.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55So our pasta's done. I'm going to tip it out.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Just give it a really good shake.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Straight into there.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Add our parsley, add our basil.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Then really give it a great, nice toss there,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15so you get all the crab going right through the pasta.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20And there you have it, a deliciously straightforward crab supper.
0:19:20 > 0:19:27Just before you eat it, do a little squeeze of lemon juice. It brings out that amazing crab flavour.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30So you couldn't ask for anything better.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36You've got linguine with fresh basil and parsley, but most importantly, the most amazing Dorset crab.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Hmm!
0:19:39 > 0:19:42That really is good.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51'One reason we're not eating enough crab is because it's hard to come by in supermarkets.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55'So I've come to Hampton in Middlesex to visit a company
0:19:55 > 0:19:58'who are trying to change things.'
0:19:58 > 0:20:04If you don't like the idea of cooking fresh, live crab, I've got the perfect solution right now.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08'The answer is pasteurised crab meat,
0:20:08 > 0:20:14'but not the frozen, "steamed within an inch of its life" stuff of yesteryear. This is the real deal.'
0:20:14 > 0:20:21- The fresh crab comes from Cornwall. It's all picked by hand, then we pack it into these small pots.- Yeah.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26- What's that? 100 grams?- Yeah. That's done so we get a portion for two people.
0:20:26 > 0:20:33'It's then vac-packed and steamed or pasteurised at a temperature that ensures it is safe to eat.'
0:20:33 > 0:20:37By pasteurising it, how long does that it increase its shelf life for?
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- From four days as a fresh product to 14.- Wow!
0:20:40 > 0:20:46- That's a long time.- It makes it a lot more plausible for supermarkets to be able to sell it on that basis.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52'So how does it compare to fresh crab meat?'
0:20:52 > 0:20:58The only reason I think that is the fresh crab and that's pasteurised is because of colour.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02- Taste-wise, there's absolutely no difference.- You're right.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07I've tasted pasteurised before which is watery and insipid, but that's really delicious.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10- Thank you.- I'll take them with me!
0:21:10 > 0:21:16So that's a great way of getting crab into the supermarkets and out to the mass consumer.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The taste was absolutely amazing.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24But if we really want to see a culture that's been embracing eating crab for years,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27I've got to see my Spanish friends.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31'Sadly, not in Spain, but in London's Soho instead.'
0:21:31 > 0:21:35The Spanish love seafood. They eat more seafood
0:21:35 > 0:21:37than anyone apart from the Japanese,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39so crab is really important to them.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And also I think one could argue
0:21:42 > 0:21:47that the Spanish are much more likely to get their hands dirty when it comes to eating.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52You have to get involved in extracting all those sweet bits of meat.
0:21:52 > 0:21:59'A lesson we can learn from head chef Nieves who brought her passion for crab from the Basque Country.'
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Why do the Spanish eat more crab than the Brits?
0:22:02 > 0:22:07You go to Spain and you have big crabs on the table. You start picking it.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09You drink wine and cava with it.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13It's really common for us to have crab and seafood,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15- especially at Christmas.- Why is that?
0:22:15 > 0:22:21- Why has Spain embraced crab more than the Brits when we've got it all round the island?- I don't know.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27- It tastes delicious.- Yeah.- It's not expensive and it's special. You know, it's something you...
0:22:27 > 0:22:33I think it's a cultural thing that the Spanish, like the Italians and French, eat together.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- It's a family thing, a sharing thing.- Maybe, yeah.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40'This isn't the only Spanish tradition to involve crab.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43'Spider crab stew is a speciality too.'
0:22:43 > 0:22:48- So this is the fantastic spider crab?- Yeah, that's a spider crab.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- So normally what you do, you put all the mix in here.- Yeah.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56- Then you put this on top like that and you'd serve that whole.- Yes.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01- That's what you do traditionally in the Basque Country in Spain?- Yes.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07'The Spanish use crab in just about everything from simple tapas to elegant souffles like this one.'
0:23:07 > 0:23:10I'm going in for the kill.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Oh, my God, it's so good.
0:23:14 > 0:23:20- If people ate crab like this, they would eat crab all the time.- Yeah. - That is so nice.- Thank you.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24'That's exactly what we need to do if we're going to revive it.'
0:23:24 > 0:23:30We've got to embrace that Spanish and Italian culture that sits down and eats it together as a family.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33It's an amazing product and we shouldn't give it away.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37We should eat it every week on the British dining table.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41For dressing it, we're going to look at what bits you don't want.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45'If you're still not sure about preparing crab from scratch,
0:23:45 > 0:23:51'many courses around the UK will take you through it step by step, like this one at Billingsgate.'
0:23:51 > 0:23:55People who come on these courses are nervous about handling it.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57They're worried about food poisoning.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03If you're faced with a whole crab, they think, "What do I do with that?" Demystifying it is the key thing.
0:24:03 > 0:24:09This is the main body. A lot of people chuck that out, but there are lots of cavities in the shell here.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13When you first look at a crab, it's daunting.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18But when someone explains to you how to do it, it's fairly easy.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23I'd be happy to go to a fishmonger's now, buy a crab and dress it myself.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28I was always quite concerned as to what parts I should keep and what parts I shouldn't,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30so that's a bit clearer now.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33A course like this is absolutely fantastic.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Seeing how to do it is an awful lot easier than reading about it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42'So come on, folks. It's time to start cooking and eating more crab.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45'And I've saved my best dish till last.'
0:24:45 > 0:24:49For my third dish, I'll use the spider crab.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53I'll take out all the meat, make it into a lovely, spicy, tomato ragout,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56put it back in and serve it in the crab.
0:25:01 > 0:25:07This crab is cooked and ready to pick. We prepare the spider crab the same way as you would a brown crab.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12I'm going to start the normal way by basically removing the base of the shell,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15so they separate like so.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21Nieves uses spider crab in her cuisine all the time. It's a real favourite amongst the Spanish.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23We forget we have it in our country.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29We'll eat it in Spain and France, but in fact all they're doing is importing it from the UK.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33So we've got to make sure we start using it here.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Again take off all the dead man's fingers, as they say.
0:25:44 > 0:25:51The great thing about this is the presentation. I love it and so will your friends at your dinner table.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53I'm going to keep the shell.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58We're just going to rinse that because we're going to use that to serve our spider crab.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Then you can see you've got really juicy, quite wet crab meat.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07And it has that really lovely, salty sort of flavour of the sea.
0:26:07 > 0:26:14Time to get on with the ragout itself which starts with celery, leeks and shallots.
0:26:14 > 0:26:20Straight into a pan with olive oil and we're just going to lightly saute that down.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24A little bit of pepper and salt just to sort of start it off.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30And then some finely chopped ginger.
0:26:30 > 0:26:36And the ginger really does give it that sort of oriental, spicy flavour to it which is fantastic.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Then it's in with some sweet cherry tomatoes and a good squeeze of tomato puree.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46And that will help to keep the sauce nice and thick.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49For acidity, a glug of white wine vinegar.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Followed by the zest and juice of a lemon.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56If you want, you can really spice this up.
0:26:56 > 0:27:02You can add a little bit of honey to it if you wanted to really have that sweet and sour effect.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04A bit of maple syrup as well.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08I'm going to keep it more on the salty side than the sweet side.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13And once the tomatoes have broken down, we add our juicy spider crab.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19As soon as that goes in, we deglaze it with a bit of brandy.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24Brandy is the perfect accompaniment to crab meat or any sort of light fish sauces.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27It just gives it a little boost.
0:27:27 > 0:27:33And our final little ingredient, just to give it a little bit of a kick, is Tabasco.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39To taste, obviously. Then off the heat, stir through some sweet basil, my herb of choice with crab.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42So straight into the shell like so.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46All I've done is just wash it out and make sure it's clean and dry.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49And once it's all in there,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53scatter some grated Gruyere, Parmesan and breadcrumbs.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57So the last little bit of breadcrumbs and cheese on there
0:27:57 > 0:27:59and then in the oven.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08After three or four minutes under a hot grill, it will be gorgeous, bubbling, golden brown.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13So there you have it - a beautiful, gratinated spider crab.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18This is such a meal in itself with the spider crab, the tomato, the leek,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20onions, celery. Really delicious!
0:28:20 > 0:28:25That's the real shame of it all. We've got the most amazing product
0:28:25 > 0:28:30from brown crabs down in Cornwall and Dorset, spider crabs and the Norfolk Cromer crabs.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35We should be using this stuff daily in our cooking, instead of exporting it.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39I hope you'll with me revive the Great British crab.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45Really make an effort and do these simple recipes I showed you and use crab every week.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd