Crab Cake Recipe Jamie Oliver

Get 3 large plates and put the flour on one and the breadcrumbs on another. Separate the eggs, putting the whites on your third plate and the yolks into a bowl. Add the crabmeat to the bowl of egg yolks, grate in the zest of your lemon, add a pinch of salt and pepper, the chopped parsley and chilli, and use your hands to scrunch everything together really well.

Take a small handful of breadcrumbs off the plate and sprinkle into the bowl. You don't want too much, just enough to bind everything together. Divide the mixture into 4 piles.

Take one of the piles, cup it in the palms of your hands and really squeeze and shape it until you've got a clementine-sized ball. Do the same with the other 3.

Roll each ball carefully in the flour, then in the egg white, then around the plate of breadcrumbs, sprinkling the crumbs over to completely cover the crab. If one of the balls happens to break that's OK - just pat it back together again, and repeat the steps.

Although you can cook them right away, I prefer to put them on a plate in the fridge for an hour to firm up a bit. Once they're chilled, pour the vegetable oil into a large sturdy deep pan and put it on a medium heat. You want the oil to reach 180C. If you don't have a thermometer, just put a piece of potato in the pan - when it turns golden, crispy and floats to the top you'll know the oil is good to go, but be careful.

Make your salsa while your oil heats up. Deseed 4 tomatoes and pop them into a food processor with your chillies, red onion and a pinch of salt. Whiz up to a fairly fine slurry and pour into a bowl. Deseed the remaining 6 tomatoes, then finely chop them and stir them into the slurry with the vinegar, olive oil and chopped basil. Have a taste and check the seasoning.

When your oil is hot enough, remove the piece of potato, then carefully lower in your crab balls and fry for 4 to 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them, and turn them as they cook so they get evenly golden. Use a slotted spoon to move them on to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain, and serve right away on a bed of your salsa, with a pinch of salt and cayenne sprinkled over, a few of your reserved basil leaves scattered on top, and lemon wedges for squeezing over.