Smoked Salmon Creams with Fresh Crab

brown and white meat from 1 crab

1 ml cayenne pepper ml grated nutmeg 15 ml chopped fresh chives

eggs, lightly beaten 50 ml cream

30 g smoked salmon

'watercress and lemon slices for garnish

Set the oven at 190°C. Place the crab meat, ayenne pepper, nutmeg and chives ina food processor and purée smoothly. Add the eggs.

Whip the cream to soft peaks, add the crab purée and fold together gently until well mixed.

Line eight well greased ramekins (about 7,5 cm in diameter and 4 cm deep) with smoked salmon, fill to three-quarters with crab mixture and place in a bain- marie half filled with boiling water. Bake for about 30 minutes until firm.

To Serve: Turn out the ramekins on warm plates and garnish with lots of watercress and sliced lemon.

Serves 2 as a main course;

4 as a starter

Trout Fillets Layered with Spinach and Feta

4 trout fillets, skinned

6 sheets phyllo pastry

melted butter

500 ml baby spinach leaves, well washed and trimmed

200 g feta cheese, crumbled

Lemon Butter Cream Sauce 100 g butter

60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice 60 ml cream, whipped

salt and milled black pepper

30 ml chopped fresh dill

Set the oven at 180° C. Grease a baking tray. Butter a sheet of phyllo pastry and place a trout fillet on it. Spread spinach on the trout, and crumbled feta on top. Place another trout fillet on top and wrap in a neat parcel with 2 more buttered phyllo sheets. Make another parcel in the same way.

Place the parcels on the baking tray and brush with melted butter. Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the fish is cooked.

Lemon Butter Cream Sauce: Whisk the butter and lemon juice together in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in the whipped cream and allow to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dill just before serving.

To Serve: Place trout parcels on warm plates and pour lemon butter sauce over. Serves 2

Oriental Kingklip

4 x 200 g portions filleted kingklip; skin on cake flour seasoned with salt and milled black pepper

butter and vegetable oil

2 green peppers, seeded and sliced 1 onion, finely sliced

24 button mushrooms, sliced

125 ml mixed fresh sprouts

5 ml crushed garlic

5 ml crushed green ginger

60 ml commercial sweet and sour sauce

Toss the kingklip in seasoned flour. Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan and fry the fish until golden on both sides and cooked through. Place on warm plates and keep hot.

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan and stir-fry the green pepper, onion and mushrooms until crisp-tender. Stir in the sprouts, garlic, ginger and sweet and sour sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over or around the fish and serve immediately with rice.

Serves 4

Crab and Cashew Nut Salad

8 crab sticks (about 250 g)

50 g butter

freshly squeezed juice of ¹/2 lemon

'/2 medium English cucumber, sliced mixed lettuce leaves

100 g cashew nuts

Dressing

125 ml water

'/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped small bunch fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

20 ml fish sauce

Dressing: Bring the water to the boil, add the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 1 minute. Cool.

Cut the crab sticks into bite-sized pieces. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan, add the lemon juice and heat until sizzling. Sauté the crab sticks for about 2 minutes until golden. Remove from the heat, toss with the cucumber and cool. Drizzle over the dressing and toss.

To Serve: Arrange lettuce on a large platter (or individual plates) and top with crab mixture. Garnish with cashew nuts. Serves 4