Soft Shell Crabs With Wilted Spinach And Warm Tomato Basil Vinaigrette Recipes

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in saute pan and add shallot and garlic. Cook gently for about two minutes or until the shallot has softened. Add tomatoes and basil and stir until juices are released.
• Turn up heat and cook until tomatoes are somewhat dry. Remove from heat, swirl in the butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• Rinse capers, dry them and sprinkle them with flour. Heat peanut oil and fry capers until light golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Discard oil.
• Prepare crabs. Dip crabs in milk, then in flour, season with salt and pepper. Heat three tablespoons peanut oil in large skillet and saute the crabs, starting with the shell side, the crab's top side, down first, for a few minutes. Turn over and saute for one and a half to two minutes on underside. Drain on paper towels.
• Serve crabs on heated individual plates. Divide the tomatoes among four plates and place crabs on top. Sprinkle with the fried capers and garnish with parsley or basil leaves and lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning, until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and break the slices in half.
• Whisk the flour and 1 tablespoon Old Bay in a shallow bowl. Season the crabs with salt and pepper, then dip the crabs in the seasoned flour to coat on both sides.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foamy. Immediately add the crabs and cook, turning, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with more Old Bay.
• Assemble the sandwiches: Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on 4 slices of toast. Top each with lettuce, tomato, some bacon and a crab. Spread the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the 4 other slices of toast and place on top of the sandwiches. Gently press down on each sandwich and cut in half. Serve with pickles.

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.

Steps:

• Soak crabs in a bowl of buttermilk.
• In a deep fryer or saucepan, heat 4 inches of oil to 375 degrees.
• Whisk together cornmeal and flour, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove crabs from buttermilk, letting excess drip back into bowl. Coat crabs evenly in the cornmeal mixture. Working in batches, fry until golden brown and crisp all over, turning if needed, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. While warm, season with salt. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add shallot and garlic. Cook gently for about two minutes, or until translucent. Add the tomatoes and stir until the juices are released.
• Turn up the heat and cook until the tomatoes are somewhat dry.
• Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time. Adjust seasoning and stir in the parsley and basil. Add lemon if necessary. Keep the sauce warm (do not overheat or it may curdle).
• Prepare the leeks. Remove the green part and cut the leeks in julienne. Wash and dry them thoroughly. Heat the peanut oil in a deep fryer and fry the leeks until light golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly. Set aside.
• Prepare the crabs. Dip the crabs in milk, then in seasoned flour. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet and saute the crabs, starting with the shell side down first, for two minutes. Turn over and saute for one-and-a-half to two minutes on the other side. Drain of paper towels.
• Serve the crabs on heated plates. If serving two crabs person, spread tomato butter on each plate and place the crabs in a V shape, with the legs facing each other. Mound the fried leeks in the middle of the V and garnish with parsley or basil leaves. If serving three crabs, arrange them in a triangle and mound the the leeks in the center. Garnish.

Steps:

• Make the curry butter: Put the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cloves in a dry skillet over medium heat. When spices are lightly toasted and fragrant, after a minute or so, grind them to a powder in a mortar or electric spice mill. Add nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne and turmeric.
• Put butter in a bowl. Add spices, garlic, ginger, salt and lime zest and juice. Mash seasonings into butter with a wooden spoon. Add crushed almonds and scallions, then mix until well incorporated. (May be prepared several hours ahead, or up to 1 day in advance.)
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons curry butter, let melt and swirl pan to distribute. Dust crabs lightly with rice flour, if using. When butter is foamy, add crabs in one layer and raise heat. Let crabs cook 3 minutes, then turn, using tongs, and cook 3 minutes on the other side. (Be careful, as crabs may spatter.) Remove crabs and keep warm.
• Add 4 tablespoons curry butter to pan and let sizzle. Add pea shoots and cook briefly until wilted, 1 minute or less.
• Arrange crabs on a warm platter or individual plates. Garnish with wilted pea shoots and lime wedges. Spoon melted curry butter from pan over crabs and serve at once.

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.

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler, adjusting the rack so that it is just beneath the heat source; put a large nonstick roasting pan or skillet in there to heat up for about 10 minutes. Or start a grill, adjusting the rack so that it is about 4 inches from the coals.
• To broil, place the crabs, top shell up, in the pan. Broil until they are firm and their tops lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Brush lightly with olive oil if you like, sprinkle with salt, and serve with lemon wedges.
• To grill, brush the crabs with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill, turning once or twice, until browned and firm, 5 to 10 minutes. Brush with olive oil and serve with lemon or, if you like, melted butter.

Steps:

• Pat the crabs dry with paper towels.
• Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crabs backside down and sprinkle with pepper flakes. Cover the crabs with a spatter-proof shield or a lid held at an angle to prevent spattering. Cook for three to four minutes.
• Turn the crabs over and add the almonds. The butter will now be starting to brown. Cook for an additional three minutes, or until the crabs are cooked. Sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper and serve with the lemon.

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.

Steps:

• In a blender, combine parsley, jalapeño, lemon juice and salt. Add oil and 3 tablespoons water. Purée until sauce is smooth, adding additional water if needed, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick yet pourable sauce. Transfer sauce to a bowl and add more salt or lemon juice, or both, if needed.
• Heat broiler. Place bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil, turning once, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Rub toast with cut garlic. Drizzle with oil or slather with butter (butter is nice on pain de mie), remove from pan and set aside.
• Lightly coat crabs with oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer, belly side up, to a large baking sheet (you can use the same one you used for the toast). Broil, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 2 minutes per side.
• Place one crab on top of each toast. Spoon a generous amount of sauce over each crab and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Steps:

• To make the succotash, combine the butter and oil in a large sauté pan over high heat and cook until the butter is melted and begins to sizzle. Add the onion and red pepper and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the corn and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the black-eyed peas, lima beans, and tomato, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the tomato softens slightly and the peas and beans are heated through, about 4 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, green onions, and parsley. Keep warm.
• To cook the soft shell crabs, put the flour in a large shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pat the crabs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Dredge 2 of the crabs on both sides in the flour and tap off the excess. Place the crabs in the pan, upside down, and cook on each side until golden brown and just cooked through, about 7 minutes total. Wipe the pan out with paper towels and repeat with the remaining oil and crabs. Place 2 crabs on each of 4 plates and tent loosely to keep warm.
• Wipe out the pan with paper towels and return to the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until it begins to turn a medium brown color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, immediately add the lemon zest and juice and dill, and season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the sauce over the soft shell crabs and serve the succotash on the side.

Steps:

• Heat broiler, placing rack just beneath the heat source. Heat a large nonstick roasting pan under broiler for about 10 minutes.
• Place crabs, top shell up, in heated pan. Broil until firm and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and serve with lemon wedges.