Txangurro a la Donostiarra

Ingredients

• 1 spider crab (centollo), about 1.2-1.4 kg
• 4 litres water
• 60 g coarse sea salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely diced
• 1 ripe tomato, halved and coarsely grated, skin discarded
• 3 tbsp thick tomato sauce
• 80 ml brandy
• 60 ml dry white wine
• 2 tbsp fine dried breadcrumbs
• 20 g unsalted butter, for the top
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• Fine salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Chill the live crab in the freezer for 15 minutes so it is dormant before cooking.
• Finely chop the shallot, garlic and leek, and dice the carrot small.
• Grate the tomato on the coarse side of a box grater and discard the skin.
• Weigh the crab so you can time the boil at ten minutes per kilo.

Steps

1. Fill a large pot with four litres of cold water, add sixty grams of coarse salt and the bay leaves, and lower the crab in shell-side down.
2. Bring the pot to a boil, then start timing ten minutes per kilo of crab and hold it at a gentle rolling boil.
3. Lift the crab out and leave it upside down on a tray for twenty minutes to cool and to catch every drop of juice.
4. Twist off the legs and claws, crack them, and pick out all the white meat into a bowl.
5. Prise off the top shell, scrape the brown meat and any coral into the same bowl, and pour in the juices from the tray.
6. Scrub the empty top shell clean under hot water and set it aside to use as the serving dish.
7. Melt fifty grams of butter in a wide pan over low heat and add the shallot, garlic, leek and carrot with a pinch of salt.
8. Cook this sofrito gently for fifteen minutes, stirring often, until everything is soft and sweet without colouring.
9. Stir in the grated tomato and the tomato sauce and cook for eight minutes until the mixture darkens and thickens.
10. Pour in the brandy and the white wine, raise the heat, and let it bubble for three minutes to cook off the alcohol.
11. Take the pan off the heat and fold in all the crab meat and juices, then season with salt and black pepper.
12. Heat the grill to its highest setting.
13. Spoon the mixture into the cleaned shell and level the top with the back of a spoon.
14. Scatter the breadcrumbs over the surface and dot with the remaining twenty grams of butter.
15. Grill for five minutes on a high shelf until the top is deeply golden and bubbling at the edges.
16. Scatter the chopped chives over and serve straight away, setting the shell on a bed of damp coarse salt so it sits steady.