White crab meat omelette with smoky liaison sauce and granary toast
This dish fits well with Iglu's ethos of using local, wild, seasonal and organic produce. I chose it because the sauce, flavoured by Arbroath Smokies (smoked haddock) and a decent mirepoix (selection of vegetables) supplements the crab omelette flavour in a near perfect way. It is also full of nutrients, zinc, calcium and omega-3 to name but a few.
I live and dream food - I regularly wake up having dreamt about turbot with nutmeg leeks, steak béarnaise or mojito sorbet. The smokie liaison is again the result of my nocturnal fantasies!
To prepare the dish, which serves two as a large starter or light main, begin by making the sauce. Place the following ingredients into a heavy base pot and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes: one small Arbroath smokie (approximately 225g) ripped into chunks; 100g roughly diced fennel bulb; 100g roughly diced white onion; 100g roughly chopped leek; 100g roughly chopped carrot; one bay leaf; two cloves; one small whole clove garlic; 500ml double cream; 250ml whole milk; a pinch of nutmeg; a pinch of freshly ground black pepper; and 50g parsley stalks. After 30 minutes, strain off the liquid (you should have about 250ml).
Next, put a pot containing a little water on the heat and bring to a slow simmer. Meanwhile, separate two eggs, put the whites aside and whisk the yolks in a metal bowl until they double in volume. Slowly add the cooking liquid left from the previous stage, whisking all the time.
Put the bowl containing the yolks and liquid over the pot of hot water and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, ensuring the liquid is kept moving and doesn't get too hot. If the temperature rises above 82°C the yolks will cook too fast and the sauce will split.
The technique of using yolks to thicken a sauce is called a 'liaison' and is also used for making custard. When the sauce has thickened put aside and keep warm.
Next, make the omelettes, which need to be ready at the same time as the toast. Only you know your toaster, but these omelettes should take one minute from start to finish.
Whisk four eggs until light and fluffy - do not season. Heat up one 12-inch or two 6-inch frying pans, add a little oil and when it comes to a high heat add your beaten eggs. With a fork, stir the eggs making sure you rub the base of the omelette. When it looks like scrambled eggs, add 100g dressed white crab meat in a line across the centre of the omelettes.
Fold over the omelettes into crescent shapes and turn out onto warm plates, which already hold the toast. Now pour your smokie liaison over the omelettes, sprinkle with parsley and serve with half a lime. FM
Ben Read is head chef at Iglu Ethical Eatery in Edinburgh's Newtown. Edinburgh-born Read trained at the Ballymaloe Cookery School, which is on an organic farm near Cork. He was taught by Darina Allen, who was awarded 2005 Best Cookery Teacher in the World by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Read says: "I enjoy this recipe because of its use of traditional techniques to produce fairly modern results. All the main ingredients are available locally, with the exception of cloves, nutmeg and black pepper, but these have been around for centuries."
