Miscellaneous basic recipes and techniques

⇐ Useful stuff

Baking blind

1. Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork. Then line the pastry case with baking parchment or greaseproof paper and good bit larger than the case - scrunch the paper up and smooth out into the case. Fill the lined case with baking beans (or use dried pulses or rice) to weigh the pastry down and prevent it rising.
2. Bake the case at the temperature and time in recipe, usually 180-190℃ for 15-20 minutes.
3. Remove paper and beans and return to oven for a few minutes to brown.

Burnt aubergine

Open the windows and check you can reach the smoke alarm 😀. This can be messy but a piece of foil with a suitably sized hole put round the gas ring helps keeping the cooker top clean.

Gas hob method

1. Put the aubergine either directly on the gas ring, or on a wire rack put on the gas ring. Turn the gas to high and leave the aubergine to get really charred, turning once with tongs - about 15-20 minutes.
2. Once charred, leave to cool until you can handle them, slit open and put the aubergine flesh into a colander, remove as much of the charred skin as possible. Allow the flesh to drain for an hour.

Hob & oven method

1. Heat a grill pan over high heat for 5 minutes till smoking hot. Pierce the skin of the aubergine a few times and put in the pan. Char for 35-40 minutes turning a few times with tongs.
2. Finish off in an oven heated to 220℃ for 10 minutes.
3. Once charred, leave to cool until you can handle them, slit open and put the aubergine flesh into a colander, remove as much of the charred skin as possible. Allow the flesh to drain for an hour.

Dealing with a live crab

How to humanely kill or dispatch a crab prior to cooking

1. Put the crab to sleep. Place in a large bowl of cold water with ice for half an hour.
2. Kill the crab. (See link below) Kill the crab by destroying its nerve centres. I use a small Phillips screwdriver - I find it hard to get enough force behind a skewer. Place the crab upside down on a chopping board. Lift the flat at the back of the shell - you will see a little hole. Stick the screwdriver in the hole at an angle of 80° and wiggle around. There is slight depression towards front of crab - push screwdriver through here at an angle of 65°. The crab should now be dead, though there may still be some leg movement for a little while. Cook as soon as possible.

• 
  Underside crab
• 
  Hind nerve centre
• 
  Front nerve centre

https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-kill-crustaceans-for-human-consumption/#:~:text=Crabs%20can%20be%20killed%20by,a%20sharp%2Dpointed%20knife).

Cooking a crab

1. Dispatch the crab See above
2. Cook. Get a large pan half filled with water - large enough for whole crab to be under water. Bring to the boil and salt the water. Put in the crab and cook for 12-15 minutes according to size.

Note: link below does not dispatch crab in RPCSA approved manner

https://thecornishfishmonger.co.uk/blog/recipes/how-to-cook-a-crab#:~:text=Boil%20a%20large%20pan%20of,for%20a%20couple%20of%20hours.

Picking the meat from a cooked crab

1. Legs. Break the legs off. Discard all but the top section (nearest the body) of the legs - you can get meat from all sections of the claws. Using a hammer, crack each leg and claw section to access the meat. Use a skewer or small flat screwdriver to prise out the meat. This the main source of white crab meat.
2. Body. Prise the two parts of shell apart. If necessary insert a large bladed knife and twist. Discard the gills (yeah man's fingers) and intestine bits. Break open the bottom part of shell and you will be able to extract some more white meat. Inside the top part of shell you will find the dark meat - I'm not keen unless mixed with mayonnaise like in dressed crab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48WTCnF2rSQ

Quick Stick blender mayonnaise

1 whole egg

¾ tsp salt

300ml vegetable oil, or mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil

1 tsp dried mustard powder, or ordinary made mustard

few grinds of white pepper

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1. Put all the ingredients, except the vinegar into a tall narrow mixing bowl (my stick blender came with one, but think 'pint glass')
2. Place the cup of the stick blender over the egg yolk and press against base of bowl. Turn on stick blender. Slowly raise stick blender and the oil and egg should emulsify and start to form an oily looking mayonnaise.
3. When good and thick, add vinegar and blend till smooth. Check seasoning.

Seared Scallops

1. The first thing you want to do when you’re searing anything is to pat the outside dry with a paper towel and sprinkle the scallops with sea salt and black pepper
2. Heat a heavy frying pan, big enough that the scallops don't crowd each other, until it’s really hot.
3. Add a little vegetable oil and drop in your scallops. Sear the scallops for about 2 minutes on the first side, then add a small pat of butter to the pan while the other side finishes cooking, to flavor the scallops:
4. Once done, serve immediately

mayo mayonaise