Stained-glass Open Crab Lasagne

Method

• Pasta:
• Place flour, salt and saffron in food processor – blitz to combine, then add egg and blitz for approximately 90 seconds until it forms a ball of dough.
• Remove from processor onto a chopping board and knead vigorously until smooth and elastic, 3-5 minutes.
• Place in fridge to chill wrapped in cling film for 15-20 minutes.
• Crab custard:
• Place 75g of brown crab meat, cream and egg, Sambuca and 1 tsp fennel seeds in a jug and blitz until smooth with hand blender for 1 minute then pass through a fine sieve.
• Place the mix in a Pyrex dish over a saucepan of rapidly boiling water and cook stirring constantly until it coats the back of the wooden spoon – 10 minutes. Tip – keep a basin of cold water beside the stove to plunge the dish into if you suspect the egg is scrambling and whisk vigorously until smooth before returning to heat.
• Set aside for now
• Pasta shaping-
• Roll out dough into a thin square and cut in half.
• Place the square into the pasta machine on the widest setting and thread through, going through the settings down to the narrowest.
• Cut the resulting long rectangular strip of thin pasta in half, place a line of fennel frongs on top of one sheet, top with the other and run the sandwiched sheets through the narrowest setting again to create a stain glass effect.
• Using a cooks shaping ring cut out 4 discs of dough and chill in the fridge until using.
• Grapefruit and vinaigrette:
• Segment and dice half the grapefruit into cubes
• For the vinaigrette whisk the hazelnut oil and squeezed grapefruit fruit juice together, add chopped mint leaves, season to taste
• Toast hazelnuts in a dry pan on a medium heat for 30 seconds, chop and add to vinaigrette
• Crispy duck crumbs:
• Finely dice the duck breast with skin on
• Place in a cold pan and set to medium high heat, cook until fat is rendered and morsels are golden brown and crisp – 2-3 minutes
• Drain on kitchen paper
• Crab Filling:
• Melt knob of butter, lemon zest and diced fennel in a pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, add the white crab meat and remaining 25g of brown meat and heat through for 1 minute
• Remove from pan, add another knob of butter and warm the claws through – 1-2 minutes on medium heat.
• Lasagne disks:
• Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the disks, cook until al dente – about 1-2 minutes or until the disks float to the surface.
• Assemble and plate up:
• Place the Pyrex dish with crab custard over the boiling pan of water and reheat for a minute or so
• Place the presentation ring on the presentation plate and pour a pool of custard on the plate, top with lasagne disk, cover disk with crab meat mixture, repeat in layers and end with a disk on top. Carefully remove presentation ring. Cover with custard.
• Place grapefruit cubes around the plate and drizzle vinaigrette, scatter duck morsels.
• Using the blow torch, lightly sear the grapefruit cubes and the top of the lasagne.
• Place crab claws beside lasagne.
• Scatter with fennel frongs and serve.