Crab & Hot Butter Sauce

Originally published in The Times article Thyme: the Most Stylish Lunch in Britain, by Tony Turnball. Images by Romas Foord.

Serves 4

• 200g freshly picked brown crabmeat

• 150g good quality mayonnaise

• 3 lemons: 2 juiced, 1 quartered

• A dash of Tabasco

• 400g freshly picked white crabmeat

• Small handful each of dill, parsley and tarragon, finely chopped

• Sea salt flakes and pepper

• 1 cucumber

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Butter

• 4 slices of white sourdough bread

1 Blitz the brown crabmeat with the mayonnaise, half the lemon juice and the Tabasco. Gently combine the white crabmeat with half the dill and all the parsley and tarragon and season to taste.

2 Peel the cucumber and slice in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and cut it into 5mm diagonal chunks. Put it into a sieve and generously salt it.

3 Let the cucumber sit on one side for 5 minutes, then give it a quick rinse and press down to squeeze off excess liquid. Combine it with the remaining dill and lemon juice and a little olive oil.

4 Butter the bread on both sides and fry it in a hot pan until crispy. Put the toast on plates, spread it with the brown crab mayonnaise and tumble over the white crabmeat. Place some of the dressed cucumber to the side and serve with lemon quarters.