Jamie’s Crackin’ Crab Briks, Couscous Salad & Salsa

• 1–2 preserved lemons
• 2 spring onions
• ½ a bunch of fresh coriander
• 400g crabmeat (I used tin crab)
• 2 tsp harissa, plus extra to serve
• 4 large sheets of filo pastry (from a 270g pack)
• olive oil

• ½ tsp caraway seeds
• ½ a mug (150g) of couscous
• 2 tsp sun-dried tomato purée
• ½ a bulb of fennel
• ½ a bunch of fresh mint
• 1 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pomegranate ( I didn’t use)

Salsa

• 1 large ripe tomato
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
• ½ a lemon

To serve

• fat-free natural yoghurt

Procedure

• Finely chop the preserved lemons, trimmed spring onions and coriander (stalks and all).
•  Mix in a bowl with the crabmeat (I used can crab meat) and harissa.

• Lay out a sheet of filo pastry, add ¼ of the mixture and shape into the size of a packet of playing cards at the centre of the bottom of the sheet, then push your thumb into the centre of the filling to make a space for it to expand as it cooks.

 

•  Fold in the sides, then fold them up.

•  Repeat until you have 4 briks.
• Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, then add the briks and cook until golden and crisp on both sides.

• Add the caraway seeds to the side of the pan and toast for a minute, then scrape into a salad bowl.
• Put ½ a mug of couscous (I used wholemeal one ) , 1 mug of boiling water, the tomato purée and a pinch of salt into a bowl and cover.

•  Pick and reserve the fennel tops, then roughly chop and grate the bulb in the processor.

•  Tip into the salad bowl, then chop and add the top leafy half of the mint.

•  Squeeze in the lemon juice and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
•  Season to taste and toss everything together.
• Finely grate the tomato and ginger into a little bowl.

•  Add a pinch of salt and pepper, a good squeeze of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and mix together.

•  Fluff up the couscous, then tip on to a platter.
•  Pile the salad in the middle, then bash the halved pomegranate over the top so the seeds tumble out.
•  Scatter over the reserved fennel tops, pop the crab briks on a board and serve with dollops of yoghurt and the salsa.

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