You can use ordinary brown crab in this dish, but if you do come across spider crabs, buy them, as the meat is sweet and worth the trouble.1 large 1Half-2kg spider crab or brown crab, cooked 100g brown crab meat Half onion, peeled and finely chopped 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed 10g knob of ginger, scraped and finely chopped Half small mild chilli, seeded and finely chopped 110ml olive oil 40ml sherry 50ml fish stock (a stock cube will do) Juice of Half a lemon 50g fresh white breadcrumbs Salt and freshly ground black pepperTo get the meat out of the crab, twist the legs and claws off, then crack them open and remove the white meat. Now turn the main body on its back and twist off the pointed flap. Push the tip of a table knife between the main shell and the bit to which the legs were attached and twist the blade to separate the two, then push it up and remove. Scoop out the brown meat in the well of the shell and put with the leg and claw meat.On the other part of the body remove the dead man's fingers (these are the feather-like, grey gills attached to the body) and discard Split the body in half with a heavy knife. Now you need to be patient and pick out the white meat from the little cavities in the body. Add this to the rest of the meat.Gently cook the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in 10ml of the olive oil until soft.

Add the sherry, fish stock and brown crab meat, stir well then add most of the breadcrumbs (reserving a few to scatter on top), half the lemon juice and season to taste Simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Blend one-third of the mix with the rest of the olive oil in a blender, then stir it back into the mixture along with the spider-crab meat Add more lemon juice and seasoning if necessary. Spoon the mixture back into the shells or an ovenproof serving dish and scatter the rest of the breadcrumbs on top Lightly brown under the grill or in a hot oven. Serve with thin slices of toast.Soused mackerelServes 4This is an old way of preserving your catch, and the end results, which will keep for up to a week in the fridge, are delicious with brown bread and butter for supper. Mackerel are scavengers and will take their own flesh for bait (which is what we used to use). Within a day or so of being caught they are delicious grilled or pan-fried.

After that, however, because of their oily flesh, they become a bit bitter tasting, hence the sousing. My grandmother always used malt vinegar, as in those days white wine vinegar had not yet made it to the West Country. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in cooking then but I think this is more or less the recipe she used. Since then I have cooked soused mackerel several times and it occasionally appears on the menu at J Sheekey, matched with samphire.