Curried crabby nachos recipe by Helen Graves

<span>Curried crabby nachos.</span><span>Photograph: Robert Billington</span>
Curried crabby nachos.Photograph: Robert Billington

This was born from the need to answer an important question: how can I combine crab and crisps on the same plate? These are show-off nachos, no doubt about it. But why not? The crema and pickled red onion can be prepared several hours in advance. Store the onions at room temperature and the crema in the fridge.

Serves 4, easily doubled
red onion ¼, finely chopped
lime juice 2 tbsp
caster sugar ½ tsp
tortilla chips 1 x 170g bag (or similar size)
cucumber ¼, deseeded and finely diced
fresh green or red chilli 1, thinly sliced
white crab meat 150g
flaky sea salt

For the curried crab crema
sour cream 150g
curry powder 1 tsp
lime juice 1 tbsp
brown crab meat 50g
smoky hot sauce a dash, such as chipotle, to taste
flaky sea salt and ground white pepper

To serve
garam masala
coriander leaves a handful
lime wedges

Combine the red onion with the lime juice, sugar and a generous couple of pinches of salt, toss to combine, then set aside.

To make the crema, combine the sour cream, curry powder, lime juice, brown crab meat, hot sauce and some salt and white pepper in a bowl, mixing until smooth (you might need to mash the brown crab meat a bit with a fork).

Spread a quarter of the crema across 2 large serving platters and top each with tortilla chips. Divide the drained pickled red onion, the cucumber, the chilli and white crab meat between them. Drizzle over the remaining crema, then top with a light dusting of garam masala and the coriander leaves. Serve with extra lime wedges.

From BBQ Days, BBQ Nights by Helen Graves (Hardie Grant, £22)

The Observer aims to publish recipes for fish and seafood rated as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide