Crab salad with green apple, avocado, aioli and spinach essence

Make the spinach essence first. Cook garlic very slowly in olive oil until very soft, then remove from oil and cool. Blanch washed spinach leaves in boiling water for approximately1 to 2 minutes (spinach should be a rich green colour).

Remove spinach from water and refresh in ice water. Place spinach, ice water and cooked garlic clove in a food processor and blend until very smooth. Place spinach mixture in afine strainer. With a spoon, push through any excess liquid that may be trapped in the spinach pulp.

Season spinach essence with salt and pepper to taste and place aside.

To make salad, grate garlicinto mayonnaise and mix well. Cut apple into small matchsticks and avocado into small, 5-millimetre dice.

In a bowl, combine crab meat, apple, avocado, garlic mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste and mix well.

To serve, divide salad into four equal portions and place into serving bowls. Mixture should sit high (you can use a ring mould to achieve this). Lightly dress baby spinach leaves with a little salt, pepper and olive oil, place three leaves on top of each salad. Pour spinach essence around crab salad when serving.