THE pretty seaside town of Crail nestles on the sweeping Fife coast just eight miles or so from The Peat Inn, as the crow flies. After taking part in last month's Crail Food Festival last month, I picked up a couple of fresh dressed crabs. The sweet, briny crabs for which the area is justly famous were as delightful as the festival itself. Once home, we headed for the garden, armed with a chilled rosé, to relish our luxurious shells.

We are incredibly fortunate having succulent shellfish, of this amazing quality, so readily available. Why don’t we eat this more often? For a little more, you could stretch to a lobster, either boiling it yourself for five minutes or buying it ready cooked. You could consider adding a couple of Scottish prawns for an extra taste of indulgence. After that, a dish of wobbly homemade mayonnaise completes a relaxed, celebratory feast, ideally served with some warm new potatoes and the dappled shade of the garden.

Crab salad with walnut mayonnaise

Recipes serve four

4 live brown small to medium sized crabs

(Halve the quantities if serving as a starter)

For the mayonnaise:

2 medium egg yolks

1-2 tsp Dijon mustard, to taste

About 150ml light, fruity olive oil

About 100-120ml walnut oil

A squeeze of lemon juice or dash of white wine vinegar

Salt

Method

1. Place crabs in the freezer. This causes a sort of hibernation and once the crabs are "asleep", they can be cooked. Bring a very large pot of water to the boil and add a dstsp salt and one of sugar. With the water boiling rapidly, place one crab in and cook for 10 minutes for small crabs and 15 minutes for slightly larger ones. Fill the sink with cold water then lift the cooked crab in to chill. Continue until all are cooked and chilled. Refrigerate until needed.

2. To open the meat: set a large chopping board on a damp cloth. Holding one at a time, use the back of the blade of a heavy knife to give a sharp blow to several points on each claw, this will shatter the shell, allowing access to the meat within. Set the claw on a platter. Continue until all the claws are done. Turn the crab onto its back then prize out the body, discarding the feathery "dead man’s fingers". Beware – the shell will contain the brown meat which can be liquidy. Scoop this out into a bowl for later. Now cut the body into six pieces. Work in between the cavities with a small pick or the handle of a teaspoon to scoop out white crab meat into a separate bowl then pick through this meat carefully for shell. Store crab meat in the fridge for up to 24 hours until ready to serve.

3. Press the brown meat through a sieve and mix into the finished mayonnaise or discard it, if you prefer.

4. Have all the mayonnaise ingredients at room temperature. Place the egg yolk into a mixing bowl then add the mustard and a little salt. Set the bowl on a damp cloth. Using a balloon whisk, whisk the yolk for several minutes until thick and foamy. Once at ribbon stage, start to add the oil.

5. Whisking all the time, slowly whisk in a few drops of olive oil, continuing to add it slowly at a steady trickle so it is emulsified. Repeat with the walnut oil. Add lemon juice or vinegar, a little at a time, taste for seasoning then adjust as desired. This can be made the day before, covered and stored in the fridge until needed.

6. To finish and serve, place the crab on a serving platter and the mayonnaise in a bowl. Give each person their own plate, a finger bowl or plenty of kitchen paper towel then serve with potato salad, a mixed leaf salad and brown bread and butter. Have an empty plate available for placing finished bits of shell.

Lobster with aioli

For the aioli:

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 egg yolks

500ml olive oil

A squeeze of lemon juice

2 or 4 medium sized lobsters, according to whether you wish to serve a half or a whole lobster per person

1. Place lobsters in the freezer for an hour, as for the crabs above. Bring a very large pot of water to the boil and add a dstsp salt and one of sugar. With the water boiling rapidly, place one lobster in and cook for three minutes then lift into a sink of ice cold water. Once cold (about 10 minutes) lift out to drain. Continue until all the lobsters are cooked.

2. To prepare for serving in the shell: pull off the two large front claws and set aside. Remove all the small legs under the head and discard. Place the first lobster on the chopping board and with a large heavy knife, cut through the head downwards to split it, then cut through the tail to cut the lobster into even sized halves. Rinse under the tap to clean the head and remove any coral. Remove the entrail duct that runs down the outer curve of the tail. Lift out the tail meat from each tail and swap it into the opposite tail so the red flesh is facing upwards, rather than the cut white flesh. Continue until all are done.

3. Break the claws off from the smaller part of the "arm" section. Use sharp scissors to cut through the length of the arm section and place this meat in the head cavity. With the back of a heavy kitchen knife, crack open the shell surrounding the claws so you can access the meat. Try to extract the meat in one piece then also place in the head cavity on top of the arm meat. Refrigerate (up to 24 hours) until needed.

4. For the aioli: crush garlic in a pestle and mortar. Mix in the egg yolk, work to a paste with the garlic then add the oil in a steady drizzle to emulsify. (You could do this stage in a bowl with a whisk.) Finish with a squeeze of lemon then taste for seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate until needed, up to 24 hours, covered with cling film.

Geoffrey Smeddle is the chef patron of The Peat Inn, by St Andrews, Fife, KY15 5LH 01334 840206 www.thepeatinn.co.uk