It is, to many of us a well known fact that much of our oceans have been overfished, although really, it is a small minority of species that have borne the brunt of our human need for eating fish. This begs the question, why do we not eat a greater variety of fish in our country? Is it because we lack the confidence, knowledge or passion to experiement or is it simply, ignorance? The spider crab is an excellent example of our attitude to the fish that we eat, thus it can be almost impossible to find on a fishmongers slab. However, just the other day, while shopping at Esher farmers market, I was delighted to find a fisherman who was brave enough to bring some to market. He had travelled all the way from South Devon, laden with lemon soles, bass, mackerel, lobsters and the reddish, orange to brown crustaceans long neglected by British fisherman. Their value is limited in the British Isles, so much of it is sent to the more apprecitive French and Spanish, who respect its deep, sweet tasting flesh.
Prizing the meat from its thin legs is a a painstaking process but with patience you can extract enough to feed two people. The shells should not be discarded, as they will create a delicious rich stock for making risotto, creating pasta dishes or as a base for fish soup.
That evening I created a simple salad with salty samphire,a few capers, sprigs of chopped fennel and a light lemon, anchovy and olive oil dressing. Served with a generous twist of black pepper, this was seasonal cooking at its best and at £3.00 for the crab, surely we should overcome our fear of the unknown and take a punt on the lost spider of the ocean.
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