On too few occasions, I get to sit at the foodie Rose Prince’s splendid table for dinner. She often serves up a delicious dish of potted crab, a recipe that she gave me and that I am now sharing with you. It’s very good eaten between grilled bread. This will make more than you need, but it keeps happily in the fridge for a good few days.

Serves 4-6

2 medium dressed crabs (360g crab meat in total – ask your fishmonger for advice)
½ tsp ground mace
1 large pinch of cayenne pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
A few gratings of lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp flat-leaf parsley, freshly chopped
½ red chilli, split, deseeded and sliced thinly
180g salted farmhouse butter
A few thin slices of sourdough

First, get the slog out of the way and start picking the meat from the crab shells – be warned, it’s a rather laborious process.

Put the brown and white meat in a bowl, add the mace, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and zest and stir. Add a little freshly milled black pepper, then pack into a shallow pot or dish. Strew with the chopped parsley and chilli.

Slowly melt the butter in a pan over a low heat, then gently spoon it over the crab, leaving behind the watery white sediment in the bottom. Place in the fridge until required.

When ready to eat, warm a griddle pan over a medium heat. Toast the slices of sourdough on both sides and spread thickly with the potted crab. Sandwich together, slice into fingers and serve immediately.

Blueprint Café, Design Museum, Shad Thames, SE1; 020 7378 7031, www.blueprintcafe.co.uk

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