Gazpacho with paddle crab

Fiona Andersen

As an alternative to paddle crab use some baby squid cut into thin strips and quickly pan fried, or some pan-fried white fish fillets.

Ingredients

4	Paddle crabs, live (Main)
1 tsp	Sea salt
4	Large ripe tomatoes
4	Red capsicums, core and seeds removed
1	Telegraph cucumber
½	Small red onions, peeled
1	Garlic clove, peeled
100 ml	Extra virgin olive oil
75 ml	Red wine vinegar, use a good quality vinegar
¼ cup	Chives, finely chopped

Directions

1. Place paddle crabs in the freezer for 1 hour to prepare humanely. Remove from freezer and place into a large pot of salted boiling water.
2. Once water comes back to the boil, cook crabs for a further 2 minutes then remove from the pot, using a slotted spoon, and plunge into iced water to cool completely.
3. Once cool, remove from iced water and drain. Remove the top shell and the dead man's fingers (gills) and pick crab meat using a lobster picker or bamboo skewer. Refrigerate crab meat until ready to use.
4. To make gazpacho, roughly chop vegetables and blend in a food processor on high speed until as smooth as possible.
5. Pass through a coarse sieve or mouli, add olive oil and vinegar, mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Place gazpacho into a stainless bowl and chill completely, either in a refrigerator or over ice.
7. Once chilled, divide between 4 bowls and scatter with fresh-picked paddle crab and chives.
8. Finish with a little extra olive oil if desired.