'Afternoon sea' sharing board
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
'Afternoon sea' sharing board
A lip-smacking board of salty joy, perfect for a sunny afternoon when you can’t make the beach. There are proper crab sandwiches, mini prawn cocktail cups, and vinegary fish and chips fresh from the fryer – just add pickles and tartare sauce
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
541Kcal
Fat
23gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
49gr
Sugars
4gr
Fibre
5gr
Protein
30gr
Salt
2.1gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
For the beer-battered smoked cod goujons
- 50g plain flour, plus 1 tbsp to dust
- 50g cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100ml lager
- 50ml sparkling water
- vegetable oil to deep fry
- 400g Taste the Difference smoked cod loins, cut into chunky goujons
For the salt and vinegar fries
- 2 large potatoes, about 500g, cut into chips
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- flaky sea salt
- malt vinegar
For the mini crab sandwiches
- 200g mixed white and brown crab meat
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- dash of Tabasco sauce
- soft butter, to spread
- 6 slices granary bread from a sliced loaf, crusts removed
For the prawn cocktail cups
- 150g cooked and peeled cold water prawns
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp tomato ketchup
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large cucumber
- paprika, to dust
To fill the board
- pickled gherkin slices
- tartare sauce
- cooked samphire
- lemon wedges
Step by step
- For the goujons, mix the two flours together with the baking powder and a pinch of salt, then slowly whisk in the lager and sparkling water, until you have a smooth batter. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- For the chips, preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Toss the chipped potatoes with the oil on a large baking tray. Season well and bake for 35-40 minutes until crispy, shaking a couple of times during cooking to prevent sticking.
- For the crab sandwiches, mix the crab meat with the mayonnaise, Dijon, chives and a dash of Tabasco. Butter the bread then divide the crab mixture between three slices. Top each with the remaining bread and cut into small squares.
- For the prawn cocktail cups, mix the prawns with the mayonnaise, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Cut the cucumber into 12 round chunks and scoop out some of the seeds from the middle (but leave a base to each cup). Fill each with some of the prawn mayo and dust with paprika.
- When you’re ready to serve, heat some vegetable oil in a large, deep pan, test the temperature with a cube of bread – the bread should sizzle and brown within a few seconds, Dip the cod goujons first in flour to coat lightly and then in the batter, and fry in the hot oil for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway through. You may need to do this in batches.
- When the chips are ready, sprinkle with sea salt and some malt vinegar. Pile the chips on the board with the goujons, crab sandwiches, prawn cocktail cups, plus small bowls of pickled gherkins and tartare sauce. Add some samphire and lemon wedges to serve.
