To tell the story of the Irish brown crab we would have to go back at least 9,000 years to summer settlements of the first hunter-gatherers who made those coastal areas their home. Without recourse to pots (which would not come along for another couple of thousand years), the crabs would undoubtedly be cooked over fire and then cracked open with rocks.
While we do have pots nowadays, it’s still difficult to get the meat out of the crab without the aid of a heavy implement. Fortunately, one can always get good quality Irish crab meat that is already picked. A little goes a long way and it is expensive due to the size of the crab. Remember when you order crab or crab claws in a restaurant that each crab is relatively small and only has two claws, so expecting a gargantuan amount is perhaps a tad fatuous.
A good way of making crab meat go further is to make a tart. Irish crab tarts only go back a few hundred years and traditionally would have been more spiced than the recipe below. To make the process a little less arduous, just pick yourself up a package of short crust pastry.
How to make crab, leek and farmhouse cheese tart
Roll the pre-made pastry into a circle on a floured work surface and place in a fluted tart tin. Trim away any excess pastry and chill the tart base in the fridge for one hour. Line the pastry with a large sheet of baking parchment and fill with baking beans (or any dried pulse). Blind bake the tart case for 20 minutes at 160 degrees. Remove the beans and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove and brush with an egg yolk.
For the filling, melt 35g of butter in a frying pan and fry two chopped leeks until soft. In a bowl, beat three eggs and fold in 300ml of cream, the cooked leeks, 125g white crab meat and 100g of grated farmhouse cheddar. Pour the mixture into the tart case. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees until just firm. Allow to cool before serving.
