At Home with Little French and 1 York Place: Freddy Bird's Baked Crab and Sourdough
“We try and eat around the table every day - how long we stay there depends on who's trying to get out of the washing up”
Chef owner of two of Bristol's favourite restaurants, Freddy Bird, invited us into his family home to show us what he cooks when he's off the clock and just enjoying good food with friends and family.
The warmth of the kitchen greets us before we even reach it. Rich stock bubbles gently away on the stove, filling the house with a comforting aroma. Downstairs, Freddy is already laying out ingredients for the dish he'll be preparing: baked crab, served with thick slices of hot, buttered sourdough and fresh, leafy greens.
It's a recipe that regulars at Little French will instantly recognise. In the restaurant, whole crabs are cooked and carefully picked by hand in the kitchen, but at home Freddy is happy to take a shortcut, using ready-picked crab meat to make the dish quicker and easier without compromising on flavour.
The inspiration between Freddy's restaurant kitchens and his home cooking flows both ways. For him, it's always about sharing great food with the people around the table. He, his wife Nessa, and their children make a point of sitting down together for dinner as a family whenever they can - a simple ritual that reflects the same honest, relaxed approach to food that has made their restaurants such favourites.
Check out Freddy's full recipe here below.
Baked Crab with Hot Buttered Sourdough Toast
Freddy Bird
At the restaurant, we would boil and pick fresh crab meat and use the shells and body to make stock. To save time at home, use prawn heads to make the stock (save the bodies for another day) and buy fresh, ready-picked crab meat. Of course, if you go to the trouble of cooking your own crab, the results will always be better!
My only caveat - never use pasteurised crab meat - it’s utterly tasteless!
My recipes are never precise, they rely on regular tasting and personal judgement. Following a recipe to the letter rarely makes a great dish.
For the ‘stock’
A couple of large handfuls of prawn heads (or crab bones if using)
1 stick celery - roughly chopped
1 onion - roughly chopped
1 carrot - roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
Large knob of butter
1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 stick cinnamon
1/2 star anise
A few black peppercorns
A couple each of tarragon and dill stalks (you’ll use the leaves at the end)
A small slug of brandy
A small slug of Pernod
Fry the prawn heads in the butter until lightly browned. Add the chopped vegetables, garlic, and spices over low heat until the vegetables are softened. Next, add the booze and cook out until almost evaporated. Then add the herb stalks and tomato, and cover with water. Simmer gently for around 35-40 mins. You want to be left with an intense shellfish stock. This is the key to the dish - a limp, flavourless stock will create a limp, flavourless dish!! This needs to be gutsy!
Strain and set aside.
For the dish
1/2 fennel bulb, very finely diced
1/2 red onion, very finely diced
2 cloves garlic, very finely diced
Butter for cooking
A dessert spoon of equal quantities of chopped tarragon and dill
The prawn/crab stock
A couple of teaspoons of Dijon mustard
A small slug of double cream
1 x 450g pot white crab meat
1 x 225g pot brown crab meat
A handful of grated Comté or Gruyère.
Sweat the fennel, onion and garlic in butter until soft and very lightly caramelised at the edges. Season to taste.
Pour in the stock and a little cream. You’ll need approximately two cups of liquid to carry the amount of crab. If necessary, reduce the liquid slightly over a low heat. Whisk in the mustard and add the herbs. Tip in the crab meat, mix, taste for seasoning.
Transfer to portion-sized, ovenproof serving dishes and refrigerate until needed, or into a shallow casserole as I have here. If serving them then and there, sprinkle lightly with the cheese and place under the grill or on your (covered) BBQ until golden, then serve immediately with hot buttered toast. If you’re preparing them earlier and keeping them in the fridge. Top with cheese before cooking. Bake in a hot oven or covered BBQ/Big Green Egg for extra flavour until golden and bubbling.
Well worth the effort, I promise!
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