COOKING with Skye ingredients, like fresh brown crab straight from Loch Dunvegan, is what The Three Chimneys has always been about. This weekend is the anniversary of when we first opened our doors to customers at The Three Chimneys. In comparison with how it is today, with head chef, Scott Davies, at the helm, Eddie and I were such amateurs. But importantly, the ethos of all we wanted to pursue in running our cottage restaurant beside the sea still resonates today, 32 years later.

This recipe was on our menu on our fateful first night. Looking back, I admit we had absolutely no idea what to expect. We thought we were prepared, but in reality, we were far from it. One of my last prep tasks, was making two crab tarts for serving that evening as a starter on my á la carte menu. As the clock ticked towards opening time, I was surrounded by chaos, despite months of preparation. Checking the tarts in the oven, I decided to give them a few more minutes to turn a little more golden in colour. Alas! I forgot to remove them from that oven until it was too late. In a blind panic, I decided I couldn't possibly serve them as they looked too burnt and deposited them outside the kitchen door in disgrace, on top of the garden picnic bench, declaring that crab tart was "off the menu".

Luckily, there were no eagle-eyed gulls or hoodie craws around.

That night, Catriona Oliver was waitressing with Eddie and one other local mum, Anne Gracie. Both ladies had worked with The Three Chimneys' previous owner. As I struggled to get myself organised at the stoves, both Catriona and Anne smoothed things over with the eagerly awaiting customers. The restaurant was packed and I was on my own in the kitchen, almost frozen to the floor with fright. Why did I ever imagine I could run a restaurant?

As fate would have it, crab tart was the starter of choice. If it had not been for Catriona’s decision to retrieve the tarts from outside and begin portioning them for serving with a wedge of lemon and an obligatory sprig of parsley (the delicious tomato dressing came later in my life) I may not have survived that first night. I quickly learned that getting food to the table in some semblance of order was the most difficult part of my new job. Fortunately, the crab tart was a huge success. Everyone seemed to love it despite it being a little overdone. It remained a favourite for years, served as a slice, or later, as individual tartlets.

Recently, I was a guest of Inverness Loch Ness Tourism Association at their Afternoon Tea Party event, held to celebrate Scottish Tourism Week. This took place in the beautiful new campus of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Our own internationally acclaimed Scottish pastry chef, Helen Vass, was also a guest and she spent the morning helping professional cookery students bake scones and other goodies for the tea which was served after the conference session. Another speaker that day was the dynamic Kirsten Gilmour, chef/owner of the Mountain Café in Aviemore. I loved meeting these brilliant and talented young women. It is fantastic to see such dedicated people leading the way for the next generation of chefs and restaurateurs in Scotland.

As Kirsten was speaking about her experience of setting up her renowned Mountain Café, as a Kiwi in the Cairngorms, her stories brought back some fragile memories of my own: the long hours, the relentless work pattern, having enough in the coffers to pay the VAT check and dealing with employing people. Starting a small business in a rural area is a monumental task to this day, but thankfully, there is a great deal more understanding and assistance available to help those with great ideas to make them work well. Helen’s pop-up restaurant experience, Dulce, where she serves a five-course dessert tasting menu, with matching wines, is just one of those exciting, entrepreneurial experiences.

While I was in Inverness, chef Scott Davies was a guest of Scotland Food and Drink, at the launch of the new 2030 Scottish Food Policy in Glasgow, which takes a long-term look at how we will develop our food and drink strategy for the future. I was proud to know that Scott, as a panellist taking part in the wider discussion, made sure that buying and using local, seasonal ingredients was not underestimated, for the important role it plays within the wider Scottish economy. Building working relationships with small producers and suppliers remains a vital part of what our business does every day in Skye.

This tart recipe has hardly changed at all. The crab-meat was not nearly as good as we use now, as my first supply was frozen in a block and distributed by a well-known frozen seafood company. Once defrosted, it was sloppy in texture and far from perfect. Over the years, I was able to source a much better, local supply, thanks to a very kind neighbour who took it upon himself to cook and hand-pick the crab-meat for me. Later, a local Skye man, who became known to us all as Rick the Crab, set up a small business doing similar, but on a grander scale.

Hand-picking crab is time-consuming but worth doing as the texture and taste of the crab-meat is of the highest quality when prepared in this way. As Rick the Crab has now retired, all the crab-meat we use in the restaurant today is creel-caught in local waters, cooked on the premises and hand-picked by Scott Davies and his team.

Try this recipe for a family lunch party, or serve a slice as a starter for a dinner party. Everyone loves it and it can all be prepared ahead, in plenty of time for the first guests arriving. Both the tart and the dressing can be served cold, or slightly warmed through, just before serving.

Crab tart with cherry tomato dressing

(Serves 6-8)

Shortcrust pastry, homemade or ready-made

1 egg, beaten

For the Filling:

250g fresh, mixed (brown and white) crab-meat

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp tomato purée

2 tbsp cream sherry

1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped chives

Freshly ground sea salt and pepper

2 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

125ml fresh double cream

1 heaped tbsp finely grated, mature Scottish cheddar or Parmesan cheese

For the Cherry Tomato Dressing:

250g ripe cherry tomatoes-on-the-vine, washed and halved

1 medium red chilli, seeds removed and chopped small

1 fat clove garlic, crushed

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp tomato purée

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

7 tbsp good quality olive oil

Method (in preparation)

1. Lightly grease a 25cm, loose-bottomed flan tin. Line the tin with homemade or ready-made shortcrust pastry and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or overnight, before baking.

2. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5 (375 F or 190°C). Place a flat baking sheet on the centre shelf to warm.

3. Prick the base of the pastry flan case all over with a fork and line with greaseproof paper, plus baking beans. Place flan tin on top of baking sheet and bake blind for 15 minutes.

4. Remove flan case from oven and remove paper and beans.

5. Brush the pastry surface all over with one whisked egg. Return to oven for further five minutes until turning golden brown.

Method

1. For the filling, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and cream together in mixing bowl.

2. Add the crab-meat together with all the other ingredients (except cheese). Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and pour into pre-baked flan case. Sprinkle with freshly grated cheese and return to hot oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes until surface is slightly risen, firm to touch and turning golden.

3. For the cherry tomato dressing, put all ingredients (except olive oil) into a blender and liquidise as smooth as possible. Sieve the tomato mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.

4. Rinse the blender goblet to remove all traces of pips and small fragments of tomato skin. Return the sieved mixture to the clean goblet. Use a plastic scraper to ensure you don’t leave any behind. Remove the cap from the centre of the lid of the blender. Switch on the blender and pour the olive oil through the top in a steady stream, until all is absorbed into the tomato mixture. Check seasoning and refrigerate until ready to use.

Shirley Spear is owner of the Three Chimneys and The House Over-By on the Isle of Skye www.threechimneys.co.uk