Soft Shell Crabs With Creamy Tomato Sauce Recipes

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH TOMATO COMPOTE

Steps:

• Prepare the compote: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Core the tomatoes and halve crosswise, then squeeze out the seeds. Put the tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Roast until shriveled, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly, then slip off the skins. Cut into chunks.
• Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a skillet over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Remove from the skillet and grind with a spice grinder or chop with a knife. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic and ginger in the skillet over medium heat and cook until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, ground coriander and cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Prepare the crabs: Heat 1/8 inch vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Put the polenta in a baking dish; add 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Put the milk in a bowl. Dip the crabs in the milk and shake off the excess, then dredge in the polenta and shake off the excess.
• Working in batches, fry the crabs, upside-down first, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towellined plate. Wipe out the skillet and add fresh oil between batches.
• Reheat the compote and stir in the herbs. Serve the crabs with the compote and lime wedges.
• Photograpg by Con Poulos

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH CREAMY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are translucent and the garlic begins to brown, 5 to 6 minutes (dont let the garlic get too brown or it will be bitter). Stir in the cumin and celery seeds, red pepper and 1/2 teaspoon each of the salt and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the sugar and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes. Add the creme fraiche and simmer for 6 minutes longer. Cover and keep warm. (The sauce can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.) Preheat the oven to 250F. On a plate, toss the flour with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Pat the crabs dry with paper towels and dredge them in the seasoned flour. In a large skillet, preferably nonstick, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderately high heat. Add 4 of the crabs and cook, turning once, until red and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the crabs to a heatproof platter and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 4 crabs. To serve, spoon the tomato sauce onto 4 warmed plates and arrange 2 crabs on the sauce on each plate. Recipe from Food & Wine, June, 1991 Submitted By [email protected] (SAM WARING) On 4 JUN 1995 073117 ~0600

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH WILTED SPINACH AND WARM TOMATO-BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make soft-shelled crabs:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Dip each crab in milk and them lightly coat both sides with flour. Heat butter and oil together in a large, oven proof (no plastic handles) pan over medium heat. Add crabs and sauté until crispy and golden, about 4 minutes. Place pan in preheated oven and cook 3 more minutes. Transfer crabs to paper toweling to absorb oil. Set aside and keep warm.
• Make warm herb vinaigrette:
• In a large bowl, combine shallots, basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. After these ingredients are incorporated, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Mix well, cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When ready to prepare dish, warm the vinaigrette in a sauce pan over high heat, removing from stove when it begins to simmer.
• Make wilted spinach:
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and sauté 4 minutes, until wilted. Drain liquid.
• Serve:
• Place wilted spinach on one side of four individual dinner plates. Arrange two soft-shell crabs over each mound of spinach, overlapping one over the other. Spoon tomato vinaigrette over crabs and around the sides of the plate.
• To properly clean a soft-shelled crab:
• Peel back the pointed part of the shell and scrape away the gills from each side. Using sharp scissors, cut off the head and carefully squeeze out the green bubble behind the eyes. Next, bend back the "apron," the thin piece that folds under the crab. Twist the apron until it breaks off, removing the intestinal vein at the same time.

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH TOMATO-BUTTERMILK SAUCE

Steps:

• Mince garlic.
• Over high heat, heat nonstick saute pan large enough to hold the crabs. Spray lightly with pan spray. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds over medium heat.
• Remove from heat, and stir in cumin, red pepper and sugar. Add the tomatoes, crushing them between your fingers before adding to the pan. Simmer for a few minutes.
• Mix 1 teaspoon of flour with a little of the buttermilk to make a paste; then, add the paste to the remaining buttermilk, and stir it into the tomato mixture. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Remove from saute pan, and set aside.
• Wash crabs and dip into remaining flour, coating both sides.
• Return pan to medium-high heat, and add oil. When pan is hot, add the crabs, and brown on both sides, allowing 2 to 3 minutes a side, depending on the size of the crabs.
• Spoon the reserved tomato sauce over the crabs, and cook just to heat sauce through.

PAN-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Steps:

• Whisk flour, salt, and pepper; place on a dinner plate. Dredge 2 soft-shell crabs in flour mixture, shaking off excess (make sure crabs are completely coated).
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. The oil should be very hot but not smoking. Place flour-coated crabs, back side down, in sauté pan; reduce heat to medium if pan starts to smoke. Sauté crabs until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes (do not stand too close to pan; crabs tend to spatter during cooking). Turn crabs over, and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add 1 tablespoon butter and a large pinch of parsley to skillet. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over crabs. Keep warm in a low oven. Repeat process until all the crabs are cooked.

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH SALTY TOMATO BUTTER

Steps:

• Fill a large skillet with enough canola oil to cover the bottom and place over medium-high heat until sizzling hot (see Know-how, page 100). Combine the flour and cornmeal in a shallow bowl or plastic bag, season with salt and black pepper to taste and cayenne, and stir or shake to mix. Place the buttermilk and hot sauce in a shallow bowl and stir to combine. One at a time, dust the crabs lightly on both sides with the flour mixture or shake in the bag, then dip into the buttermilk mixture and back into the flour mixture to coat evenly, shaking off any excess flour.
• Place the crabs in the hot oil and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy. Line a platter with a brown paper bag.
• Remove from the skillet, drain on the platter, and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm topped with slices of Salty Tomato Butter and lemon wedges to squeeze over the crab.
• Place the butter, tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined and blended, stopping to scrape down the the bowl several times as you go. Transfer the mixture to a piece of wax paper, roll it into a log 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, or for up to 1 week. Slice into thin rounds as needed.
• For a more traditional preparation, serve the crabs with Horseradish Remoulade (page 117), Herb Tartar Sauce (page 100), or Spicy Cocktail Sauce (page 283) in place of the Salty Tomato Butter.
• Soft-shell crabs are a seasonal specialty and point of pride on the Outer Banks, and I fell in love with them. My friend Della took me to the little town of Manteo, North Carolina, to go soft-shell crabbing. It was such an adventure! We got on the boat before sunrise and headed out to sea, where the crabbers located their big metal traps and pulled up the crabs. Back on shore, they dusted the freshly caught crabs in cornmeal, sautéed them in a little oil and butter, and served them to us with lemon wedges. I was blown away by the simple preparation and amazing flavors-the brine of the seawater and the sweetness of the crabmeat were incredible together.
• I think people often assume that soft-shell crabs are a separate variety; actually, they are blue crabs that are caught and eaten just after they molt their hard outer shells, so the entire crustacean, "soft shell" and all, is edible. During soft-shell season, usually May and June, "busters"-crabs that are in the process of molting-seek refuge in protected areas and begin taking in lots of water so their bodies swell up and eventually crack open their outer shells. The males are called jimmies, and the females are she-crabs, sooks, or sallies, depending on how fully developed they are. The window of time for harvesting individual soft-shell crabs is very short; there is about a four-day period between the time a blue crab sheds its outer shell and the soft shell beneath it begins to harden.