Clayton Green, head chef at English’s of Brighton, shares a seasonal dish for you to conjure up at home to impress your family and friends

On the Sussex coast we have easy access to wonderful brown crab, which we do not seem to eat enough of.

This wonderfully simple yet elegant dinner party starter showcases the great flavour of our crab with ripe avocado and lime juice. Impress your friends with delicious homemade mayonnaise, which is so different to shop-bought mayo.

Please don't let this recipe fool you: it is very quick and easy and can be prepared in advance of your guests arriving and kept in the fridge. Within minutes of sitting at the table, you can present them with a really fresh-tasting and light dish.

For the homemade mayonnaise:
3 x egg yolks
30ml white wine vinegar
1-2 teaspoons quality Dijon mustard
500ml rapeseed oil
Salt to taste

For the Chilli & Lime Vinaigrette
½ teaspoon sugar
15ml white wine vinegar
75ml extra virgin olive oil
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
½ lime, segmented and diced
20g freshly chopped parsley

For the Crab & Avocado Timbale
1 x ripe large avocado
Juice of ½ lime
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
200g freshly picked white crab meat
Finely shredded round lettuce or iceberg
Homemade mayonnaise
2 x plum tomatoes, sliced
20g chopped parsley

Homemade mayonnaise

Ideally  you should use pasteurised egg yolks as the mayonnaise is uncooked. However, this is hard to come by, so use fresh high-quality free-range farm eggs. Once you've made this, you will never revert to factory-produced mayo, and it keeps well in the fridge. Using a food blender is ideal but a whisk and bowl can be used if you fancy a work out.

1 Buzz the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard together in a blender until the yolks start to look creamy and pale on a high speed.

2 Start to slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture, still blending at a high speed.

3 Pause the oil from time to time to allow the emulsification to take place.

4 Once the oil is added, allow the blending to continue for a further 2-3 minutes.

5 Taste, add salt, buzz and taste again.

6 Repeat until desired taste is achieved.

Chilli & Lime Vinaigrette

1 Stir together the sugar and vinegar until the sugar is dissolved.

2 Slowly whisk in the oil, drizzle
by drizzle.

3 Add the chilli and lime segments.

4 Set aside for service. You will stir in the parsley just before using the vinaigrette.

Crab & Avocado Timbale

When buying your crab, try to avoid vacuum-packed white crab meat.

This makes an enormous difference to the taste.

At English's we prepare all our crab meat from live locally-caught crabs.

It takes hours and hours of picking but our customers appreciate the fresh flavour.

There are many quality fishmongers on the south coast who will do this for you. 

1 Split, peel and finely chop the avocado, immediately coating in the lime juice to avoid discolouration.

2 Place avocado, chilli, crabmeat
in a bowl and season.

3 Add mayo, a little at a time and lightly fold it in.

4 Bind the shredded, seasoned lettuce in a touch of mayonnaise, being careful not to deluge the lettuce.

5 Take a small tray and cover with cling film.

6 Place a mould or cooking ring on the tray

7 Place a slice of tomato in the bottom and put the lettuce on top. Then add another slice of tomato, put more lettuce on top. Press down gently with the back of a spoon.

8 Spoon on a layer of the crabmeat.

9 Repeat this process with the three other timbales.

10 Place in the fridge for later. To serve, add the parsley to your dressing. Place the timbale on to the plate and dress with the vinaigrette around the plate. It's as easy as that!