River Crab Salad with Basil Granita

Ingredients

• 2 bunches basil
• 250 ml mineral water
• Salt
• Lemon juice
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• Fleur de sel
• 4 tbsp grape seed oil (or mild olive oil)
• 1 melon (Charantais)
• 200 g river crab (cooked and extracted, from the refrigerated section)

Instructions

1. 1.

   For the basil granita, pick off the basil leaves. In a pot bring water to boil, blanch the leaves for 30 seconds, remove and cool in ice water. Squeeze out excess liquid and roughly chop. Blend with mineral water in a blender or high‑speed jug using an immersion blender until smooth. Season with a pinch of salt and a splash of lemon juice. Pour into a shallow dish and freeze for 2 hours. Every 30 minutes stir thoroughly with a fork to form many small crystals.

2. 2.

   For the dressing, whisk together lemon juice, sherry, and fleur de sel until dissolved. Fold in the oil.

3. 3.

   Halve the melon and remove seeds. Using a melon baller, scoop out uniform balls of flesh. Add the melon balls and river crab meat to the dressing and gently fold in.

4. 4.

   To serve, divide the river crab salad among 4 glasses. From the basil granita, use an ice scoop to form a ball for each glass and place on top.