SPANNER AND SPINACH

This recipe shows you how to blend the flavour of Queensland’s own spanner crabs with warrigal greens, the native spinach you find on southeast Queensland’s beaches.

Basic Crepe Batter
30g butter
Salt
1 ½ cups milk
150g plain flour
2 eggs

Warm butter, salt and milk until butter has melted. Put flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Break eggs into well and work in some flour. Add warm milk mix and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cooking. The consistency should be like thin cream. If not, thin with more milk. This should make about 10 crepes.

Filling
The meat from 1 medium sized spanner crab
1 small white onion, diced
50g butter
50g plain flour
250ml milk
2 large handfuls native spinach (boiled briefly)
Native pepper, salt

Place butter and onion in a pan and fry until soft but not coloured. Sprinkle on the flour and cook for two more minutes. Take the pan off the heat, add the milk, return to the heat stirring constantly until thick. Add the spinach to this sauce and season with salt and pepper. Then add the crab meat and allow to heat through gently. Don’t stir it too much or you will break up the crab meat. Spoon equal amounts onto each crepe and roll into cylinders. Slice across and serve.