Name: Best ever crab sandwiches
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Makes 4 deep-filled sandwiches
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 8 hand-cut slices best-quality brown or granary bread; unsalted butter for spreading; 1 lemon cut into 4 wedges, to serve; brown crabmeat from 1 large brown crab, about 1.5 kg in its shell (reserve the white meat, see below); 1 tbsp mayonnaise; 1 tsp tomato ketchup; juice 1/2 lemon; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; big pinch cayenne pepper; few drops brandy (optional); picked white meat from the same crab; small handful chopped mixed herbs such as parsley, dill, tarragon, chervil and chives; juice 1/2 lemon; 2 tbsp olive oil

Crab sandwiches wrapped in paper on checked tablecloth

8 hand-cut slices best-quality brown or granary bread
unsalted butter
for spreading
1 lemon
cut into 4 wedges, to serve

For the crab paste

brown crabmeat
from 1 large brown crab, about 1.5 kg in its shell (reserve the white meat, see below)
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp tomato ketchup
juice 1/2 lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
big pinch cayenne pepper
few drops brandy
(optional)

For the white meat

picked white meat from the same crab
small handful chopped mixed herbs such as parsley, dill, tarragon, chervil and chives
juice 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

step 1
Make the crab paste: mix the ingredients together in a bowl and season, then set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the white meat with the herbs, lemon juice, oil and seasoning.
step 2
Spread the bread lightly with butter, then spoon and spread the crab paste over 4 of the slices. Pile the white meat over, then top with the remaining bread. Cut the crusts off, if you like, and serve halved or in small triangles or squares with lemon wedges on the side.