The recipe
Ingredients
(Serves four)
For the crab cakes:
• 400g cornish crab meat
• 10g red onion, minced
• 1 egg
• 30ml aioli
• 3g parsley, chopped
• 15ml lemon juice
• 10ml Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
For the aioli
• 50ml canola oil
• 2 egg yolks
• 15ml lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 10ml Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper, to taste
For the marinated cucumber and grapefruit salad
• 1 cucumber, cut into ribbons
• 200ml white vinegar
• 75ml water
• 50g sugar
• 2 grapefruits, segmented
• 50ml lemon juice
• 100ml water
• 75g sugar
• 2 star anise
Method
1 To make the crab cakes, pick through the crab meat to make sure it is free of shell and cartilage, then mix it with all the ingredients and season.
2 Form the cakes with an 8cm round cookie cutter, then heat in a pan with a small amount of oil, and sear on both sides until golden brown.
3 To make the aioli, whisk together the egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard.
4 Add the oil a few drops at a time to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture is emulsified.
5 Whisk in garlic and season. If aioli is too thick, add 1 or 2 drops of water.
6 To make the marinated cucumber and grapefruit salad, heat the sugar, vinegar and water in a small pot, until the sugar is dissolved. Once the liquid is chilled, pour it over the cucumber and marinate for 1 hour.
7 Bring the lemon juice, water, sugar and anise to boil in a small pot. Place the grapefruit segments in a small bowl and pour the boiling liquid over top. Cover and place in the refrigerator until cool.
8 To assemble, using the back of a spoon, place a line of aioli on the plate. Place the seared crab cake on top. Drain the cucumber and grapefruit from their liquid and toss with a little salt and pepper. Place the cucumber and grapefruit on top of the crab cake and garnish with fresh leaves of arugula and slices of red radish.
The chef
Name: John Cordeaux
Nationality: British
Award-winning Chef John Cordeaux relocated from the Fairmont Royal York in Canada to become executive chef at the Fairmont Bab-Al-Bahr, overseeing in the last 18 months seven openings, including the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill.
What are you most proud of? The people I’ve been privileged to work with. Watching them grow into successful, passionate culinarians is a huge reward.
