Time & Tide turns two, Crab and Tarragon Tart as Summer days go by 🌳 ☀️ 🎡 🌊
Shore to Shore
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As ever I share my recipes, stories and style from Bordeaux, Cornwall and beyond. Seasonality, provenance and enjoying the simple things life has to offer at its heart. How I think and feel and what brings me joy. I hope to inspire you in your own kitchen from using new ingredients, making that list, thinking about how you cook, not making it a chore but something to look forward to whatever day.
This weeks post is for all my subscriber community and hello to a flurry of new subscribers it is wonderful to have you here especially when there is so much choice here on Substack. In this weeks post I celebrate two years of Time & Tide, share a Crab and Tarragon Tart recipe from my new book Home Shores and I share my thoughts on Crab and what I think and feel about this mighty crustacean.
A call to the coast: Time & Tide Recipes and Stories from my Coastal Kitchen turns two 💕📖 🌊
Two years on planet earth my second published cook book. “Time & Tide” reflects the rituals, routines, colours and times of day that are important to me. I will take you through the heart of my kitchen as the days unfold in moments of time, to tell you about what is important to me and brings me joy. From my style and how to keep things simple yet thoughtful, to my favourite times of the day and the importance of making time.
Join me to discover recipes from my coastal garden, for long lunches, beach days, boat days, salty swims and sunsets by the sea, all using beautiful ingredients, with nostalgia and provenance always at the core of my cooking. I am so proud of this book and I hope you love it as much as I do.
Crab (life enhancing)
I have had a long love for this edible or commonly known brown crab as long as I have been in Cornwall and before that as a child through younger days spent messing around in boats and harbours. Sitting on the harbour wall looking across the estuary to Padstow we would carefully hook our rolled bacon to our line and lower it into the water and wait.
Found in the cool Atlantic waters and in abundance, landed daily by local fishermen in Port Isaac and other fishing ports across the land. As some of you know I was married to a fisherman so had a wonderful glimpse into this incredibly hard yet romantic way of life and I certainly think we have some of the finest crab meat in the world. Fun fact, if I had to choose crab or lobster it would be crab every time. Live, cooked or dressed it really is such a gem of an ingredient: the sweet white crab meat and the contrast of the brown richer meat. If you are new to crab simply try it in a crab sandwich or crab linguine, a recipe which potentially be my last supper (but let’s not talk about the end just yet) Dressed crab makes a lovely starter if you are having friends around. I love serving crab, lobster and scallops back in their shell.
What’s your advice on sourcing crab?
Where possible source it though the fisherman and boat. I always head to Port Isaac to Just Shellfish or Fresh from the sea. Crab is available in most good supermarkets or even better head to your local fishmonger.
Do you have any advice on preparing it (eg straight from the fridge or at room temp; difference between brown and white meat etc)
Straight from the fridge. Place on a tray and sieve through the crab to check for shell. I prefer simply using white meat. If you do like brown meat it is very rich so I would use it instead of butter or mayo.
What’s your favourite way to eat it? (or perhaps your favourite place to eat it?)
Crab linguine a recipe which potentially be my last supper (but let’s not talk about the end just yet) sea view essential.
Do you have any particular memories or happy associations with eating crab in Cornwall (or France)?
A crab sandwich - I am immediately transported to Port Isaac sitting on a bench on the platt looking out through the harbour wall to the open sea. All the scents of the sea, lobster and crab pots stacked high waiting to be taken on board to catch the rich pickings from the ocean beyond. Seagulls overhead making the most noise as usual, the working harbour, the fishermen coming in and out depending on the tide.
Describe your perfect crab sandwich and where you like to eat it (and with what)
For me a crab sandwich should be kept simple and let the freshly picked Cornish crab do the talking. No brown meat for me, simply white crab meat with mayonnaise to bring it together. Undertin malted loaf always.
Crab and tarragon tart
Crab wonderful crab, an ingredient that is always found on my restaurant menu or at home in my kitchen. This simple rather rustic tart is delicious and sings summer time to me and warmer days. Tarragon is often underrated but a soft herb that is a staple in my garden, larder and especially eats well with crab.
For the Shortcrust Pastry (or ready made)
200g plain flour
175g butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water
1 pinch sea salt
Crab Custard
500g crab
3 eggs
300ml double cream
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 lemon, juice
1 tbsp tarragon leaves
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
Serves 6
Method
Pre heat the oven to 200’C
Make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, either with your fingertips or in a food processor. Add the egg yolk and water and a good pinch of salt. Bring together into a ball and slightly flatten. Wrap in cling film and put the pastry in the fridge to cool and rest for 30 minutes (alternatively, and if short on time, ready bought pastry will work a treat). Roll out the pastry and line a 23-24cm loose bottomed fluted tart tin (line the tin with a circle of parchment). Chill for 30 minutes. Line the pastry with parchment, baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes until the edges are golden. Carefully remove the paper and beans and cook further for 5-10 minutes until golden. Set aside.
Reduce the oven to 190’C
Separate the eggs. In a large mixing bowl mix the yolks with the cream, dijon mustard, chopped tarragon, lemon juice and white crab. Stir together. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until just stiff peaks and then gently fold through the crab custard mixture with a metal spoon (in a figure of eight). Spoon into the pastry case and top with the parmesan.
Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes until just set. Ideally looking for a slight wobble. Allow to cool before cutting. Delicious eaten with a simple watercress, raw fennel salad and good olive oil.
Cook’s Note - Never rush pastry (make sure you chill it twice) Baking blind gives your pastry a better texture and creates a contrast to the filling. Always bake on the middle shelf. Make sure your ingredients are cold. I like to use only white crab meat, but if you like the brown meat you could use half and half.
About Home Shores: OUT NOW
100 simple fish recipes to cook at home 📖 🐟 🌊
Fish and shellfish are the perfect healthy fast supper, a treat we enjoy when eating out, but often something we shy away from when cooking for ourselves. With Home Shores at your side, you need never do so again.
By following Emily Scott’s tried-and-tested techniques, and the hints and tips that accompany the recipes throughout, you will soon be cooking perfect pan-fried fish dinners and super seafood suppers with confidence at home, including Lemony Orzo with Tuna, Avocado, Spring Onions and Mint, Hot Smoked Trout and Watercress Tarts, and Sea Bass with Malaysian Dressing.
Coupled with Emily’s expert advice on what to look for when choosing and buying fish and shellfish, how best to prepare them, a chapter on using just tinned fish and another on Emily’s favourite flavoured butters, sauces and sides, including Citrus Vodka Tomato Sauce, Green Olive Caponata, and Fig and Apple Pickles, plus an equally important section on the art of making a good fish stock, Home Shores is guaranteed to become your go-to kitchen companion whenever you fancy fish for dinner.
I love Time and Tide! I've made your coffee and walnut cake many times and get so many compliments.