Enjoy! #13 | Three courses from the Big Green Egg

STARTER

Crab cakes with water cress crème and crispy vegetables

MAIN COURSE

Roasted sea bass with antiboise and grilled vegetables

DESSERT

Strawberries with meringue and rhubarb compote

Crab cakes

1. For the crab cakes, ignite the charcoal in the Big Green Egg and heat, with the convEGGtor and the grid, to 220°C. Meanwhile, wash the crab claws and leave to drain. Peel the celeriac and the carrot and cut into cubes along with the fennel. Peel and chop the onions and 2 of the garlic cloves.
2. Place the Green Dutch Oven Round on the grid and heat one tablespoon of olive oil in it. Add the onion, garlic and cubed vegetables and fry for approx. 1 minute. Add the crab claws and fry for approx. 2 minutes. Add the white wine and let the crab claws cook for approx. 8 minutes. Close the lid of the EGG after each action.
3. Remove the crab claws from the Dutch Oven, dispose of the vegetables and wipe the pan clean. Using the handle of your chef’s knife, crack the shell of the claws and remove the crab meat with a small fork. Check carefully to make sure that there are no pieces of shell in the crab meat. Peel the potatoes and finely grate them. Place the grated potato in a clean tea towel and squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the potato. Peel and finely chop the shallots and the third garlic clove. Peel and grate the root ginger and finely chop the flesh of the chilli pepper.
4. Place the Dutch Oven on the grid and heat the second tablespoon of olive oil in it. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli pepper and potato and fry for approx. 3 minutes until the potato is done and sticky. Stir occasionally, closing the lid of the EGG after each action.
5. Remove the Dutch Oven from the EGG and mix the curry paste and the crab meat with the potato. Allow the crab mixture to cool slightly. Meanwhile, remove the tarragon leaves from the stalks and chop finely. Mix into the crab mixture along with the egg yolk. Spread the mixture out evenly in a dish of about 20 x 20 cm, cover and leave to firm up in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or longer). Wipe the Dutch Oven clean.
6. For the crème, place the Dutch Oven back on the grid and heat the olive oil in it. Meanwhile, remove the stems of the water cress. Peel and chop the shallot and the garlic. Set some of the water cress aside for garnishing the dish, add the rest to the shallot and the garlic and fry for approx. 1 minute. Stir in the crème fraîche, close the lid of the EGG and allow the water cress to braise for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally while braising.
7. Spoon the water cress out of the pan and blend in a food processor or with a hand blender. Add salt and pepper to taste, cover the crème and put it in the refrigerator. Wipe the Dutch Oven clean again for later use.
8. For the vegetables, clean the radishes and the swedes and halve them along with the pearl onions. Remove the ends of the mange-tout. Cover the vegetables and store in the refrigerator. You can leave the setup and the temperature of your EGG as it is.

Sea bass

1. Rinse the sea bass inside and out under running water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Cut 7 diagonal slashes into both sides of the fish, making sure the cuts are evenly spaced. Cut the lemon into 7 thin slices and halve them. Cut 7 of the thyme sprigs and 7 of the rosemary sprigs down the middle. Fill each slash with a slice of lemon and half a sprig of thyme and rosemary. Cover and store the sea bass in the refrigerator.
2. For the preparation of the antiboise, bring a pan of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of cold water. Reduce the heat, cut a shallow X into the tomatoes and submerge them in the boiling water for about 10 seconds. Immediately cool them in the cold water. Remove the skins and halve the tomatoes. Scoop out the seeds and membrane and dice the flesh. Press the seeds and membrane through a sieve and reserve the juice.
3. Place the Cast Iron Sauce Pot on the grid and heat the olive oil in it. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallots. Remove the tarragon leaves from the stalks and finely chop them. Fry the shallots and the curry powder in the pan until the curry starts to smell nice. Stir in the reserved tomato juice and the tarragon vinegar. Mix the potato starch with a dash of water and stir it into the shallot mixture. Heat briefly and remove the dish from the EGG. Spoon the contents into a bowl, mix in the tomato cubes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
4. For the vegetables, reduce the temperature of the EGG to 170ºC. Meanwhile, wash the new potatoes, beets and carrots and pat dry. Peel the celeriac slices and cut each slice into 3 pieces. Cut the beets into quarters. Pack each type of vegetable separately in aluminium foil, adding a tablespoon of olive oil, a sprig of thyme, a sprig of rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Place the package on the grid, close the lid of the EGG and roast the vegetables in approx. 20 minutes until done.
5. Remove the vegetable packages from the EGG, carefully remove the aluminium foil and leave to cool. Cover the roasted vegetables and store in the refrigerator.

Strawberries

1. Bring the temperature of the EGG to 120°C, still using the convEGGtor. Meanwhile, for the compote, remove the ends of the rhubarb. Put your knife behind the peel and pull out the strings. Repeat until you have removed the hard strings from all the stalks. Rinse the rhubarb stalks, cut them into pieces of about 5 cm and put them in the Dutch Oven.
2. Halve the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add this to the rhubarb along with the sugar, berry liqueur, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom pods. Place the pan on the grid and close the lid of the EGG. Let the rhubarb simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. Remove the Dutch Oven from the EGG and spoon the rhubarb into an oven dish of about 20 x 30 cm. Allow the rhubarb to cool and extinguish the EGG by closing the rEGGulator and the draft door, or set it up as explained in the preparation of the crab cakes. Hull the strawberries and divide them over the cooled rhubarb compote. Cover and store the dish in the refrigerator.
4. For the meringue, beat the egg whites with the sugar in a clean, grease-free bowl until you get firm peaks. Put it in a pastry bag and store in the refrigerator (for up to 1 hour).

Strawberries

1. Remove the bowl with the compote and the strawberries from the refrigerator. Remove the Cast Iron Grid using the Cast Iron Grid Lifter. Place the convEGGtor, replace the grid in the EGG and heat to a temperature of 120°C. Meanwhile, pipe some of the meringue onto each strawberry.
2. Put the dish on the grid and close the lid of the EGG. Let the dessert cook for about 8-10 minutes until the rhubarb compote and the strawberries are lukewarm and the meringue turns brown. Enjoy!