Soft Shell Crabs With Creamy Tomato Sauce Food

CRAB STUFFED SHELLS WITH CREAMY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• While waiting for the water to boil, heat a saucepan with the olive oil over medium heat.
• Cook the onion and garlic until fragrant, about 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
• Stir in 1/3 to 1/2 of the heavy cream depending on your preference, then keep warm over low heat.
• Cook the pasta three minutes less than recommended cooking time.
• Drain pasta.
• In a bowl, mix together the ricotta and crabmeat filling ingredients until well mixed.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Pour in some of the sauce to cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch oven-proof baking dish.
• Fill the stuffed shells with the crabmeat and ricotta filling, then arrange on top of the sauce in the casserole dish.
• Spoon the remaining sauce to cover, then sprinkle the top with the grated Pecorino or Romano cheese.
• Bake about 20 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned.
• Serve and enjoy!

SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH CAPER BROWN BUTTER

Steps:

• To prepare the soft-shell crabs: Put the flour in a pie dish or plate and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the crabs in the seasoned flour to coat, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high flame. Lay the crabs in the hot oil in a single layer without crowding; you may have to fry them in batches. Be careful, the crabs have a tendency to pop and spatter. Cook the crabs for about 3 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and cover to keep warm.
• Lower the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. Let the butter melt and cook until it just begins to brown. Add the capers and wine; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until almost dry. Add the lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Pour the caper brown butter sauce over the crabs and serve with lemon wedges.

SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH GARLIC AND BUTTER

Steps:

• Season crabs with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off excess. Set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and saute the crabs until soft, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the crabs and set aside. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add the capers and white wine. Cook until wine has reduced to about 1/2. Swirl in the butter and the chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer crabs to a plate, spoon sauce over the crabs and garnish with Essence.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

SOFT SHELL CRAB SANDWICH

Steps:

• Heat about 3 inches of oil in a saucepan to about 400 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, mix eggs, milk and beer until creamy. Put flour in a separate bowl. Dip soft shell crabs into wet batter and then dip into flour. Drop battered crab into hot oil. Fry crab for 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Serve on buns, with tartar sauce, tomato and lettuce.
• Mix mayonnaise, horseradish, pickles, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Add lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Yield: about 3 cups

CRAB SAUCE

Steps:

• Saute shellfish in butter. Stir in tomato paste, dry white wine and evaporate liquid. Add white sauce, bring to a boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in cucumbers and chives and serve over ink pasta.

SHEILA'S SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In Ziploc bag, add flour and Old Bay seasoning. Seal and shake to mix.
• In bowl, combine eggs and milk.
• Dredge crabs in egg mixture, then add to seasoned flour and shake to coat. Shake off excess when removing from bag.
• Heat 3 T. oil in large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 3 crabs in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3 minutes. The crabs should be nice and golden brown. (Be careful when cooking, because they sometimes will pop and/or spatter.) Remove crabs to serving dish.
• Heat remaining 3 T. oil in pan, then add the next 3 crabs and repeat cooking instructions.
• Do not clean out pan when crabs are removed, but add butter. Let the butter melt and turn a little brown. Add the capers and the wine. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the lemon juice and the parsley. Cook for about 2 more minutes, or until reduced by about a third. Pour sauce over the crabs and serve.

SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH TOMATOES

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.

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.

SOFT SHELL CRAB SANDWICHES WITH SPICY TARTAR SAUCE (PO BOY)

Steps:

• Make the Tartar Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, onion, pickle, capers with spicy tartar sauce chives, Old Bay, lemon juice, and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.
• To Cook the Crabs: In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Dredge the crabs to coat on both sides.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the butter to the skillet and swirl the pan to melt it. Add the crabs top side down and cook, shaking the pan once or twice, until crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. The crabs may pop and splatter, so be careful.
• Flip the crabs and cook until crisp and just cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the crab should read 145°F), about 3 minutes more. Transfer the crabs to a large paper-towel-lined plate.
• To Assemble the Sandwiches: Spread the tartar sauce on the 8 slices of toast. Top 4 of the toast slices, sauce side up, with a piece of lettuce and 1 or 2 slices of tomato. Put one crab on each sandwich, top with the remaining toast, sauce side down, and serve.

SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

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.