Soft Shell Crabs With Garlic Herb Vinaigrette Food

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH GARLIC-HERB VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• 1 Peel and seed the tomato. Cut it lengthwise into ¼-inch-wide strips. Set aside.
• 2 Put the vinaigrette in a bowl and whisk in the garlic and cayenne. Set aside.
• 3 Just before cooking, clean the soft-shell crabs: Pull off the underbelly flap and gills and cut off the eyes. Put a little flour in a tea strainer and sift just enough over the crabs to lightly coat both sides.
• 4 Put 1 teaspoon of oil in each skillet and place over high heat. When the oil is just smoking, add 2 crabs to each pan. Sauté until brown and crisp, about 1½ minutes per side.
• 5 Stir the herbs into the vinaigrette. Spoon about 2 tablespoons onto the center of 6 dinner plates. Use the back of the spoon to spread the vinaigrette into a 6-inch circle. Arrange strips of tomato in a circle, spoke-fashion, with half of each strip in and half out of the vinaigrette.
• 6 Split each crab in half and place over the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

FAMOUS ROAST GARLIC CRAB

Steps:

• Cleaning dungeness crab:
• Holding the body backside up, place your right thumb in the joint between the upper and lower shell on the side opposite the mouth. Your palm will be stretched across the top of the shell. Hold the bottom of the crab in your opposite hand. Force your thumb in and pull up and back to your right until shell snaps off. Pour any juices in the shell into a small bowl. Cut the body into quarters with a large knife. Twist the legs off the body. Crack lightly in several places with a nutcracker and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a very large ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. (You may need 2 pans.) Add the crab and garlic, and toss well. Saute for about 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and mix in lemon juice. Saute for another 5 minutes, then add parsley. After another 1 or 2 minutes, remove the crab and serve in the newspaper lined cans.

GRILLED SOFTSHELL CRAB SALAD WITH GREEN GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat grill. Brush crabs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.Divide above ingredients among 4 large plates. Top each plate with a crab and drizzle with green garlic vinaigrette.
• Place vinegar, shallot, parsley, garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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 WITH LEMON HERB BUTTER AND SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Steps:

• Clean the crabs and remove the air sacs by lifting the bib on both sides. In a stainless bowl, add the milk and buttermilk and place the crabs in it to coat.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and pepper, to taste.
• In a non-corrosive pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil and gradually whisk in the butter, lowering the heat and whisking constantly until all is incorporated. Keep warm.
• Bring 4 saucepans of salted water to a boil. Blanche the haricots in one, the favas in another, the peas in a third and asparagus in a fourth. When just cooked, strain the vegetables and add each into separate ice water baths. Strain and reserve the haricots, peas and peel the favas, keeping cool. When favas are cooled, peel outer skin and reserve. Cut the asparagus on the bias.
• In a saute pan, add 1 ounce of the butter sauce and over medium heat, add the shallots. Sweat until transparent and add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Saute the scallions (or pearl onions) and radishes until warmed through. They should still be crisp. Add the blanched favas, haricots verts, peas and roasted scallions or pearl onions and cook a few more minutes. Check salt and pepper and add savory. Keep warm.
• Preheat and oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the soft-shell crabs from the milk mixture and shake off excess. Dip into seasoned flour and shake off any excess.
• In a saute pan over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and when hot, add the soft-shells, top down. Saute about 2 minutes until brown and crisp and turn. Place in an oven for 2 to 3 minutes until cooked through. Remove from pan and wipe out, keeping crabs warm. Deglaze with the lemon juice, add the butter sauce, tarragon and chervil; do not boil.
• On 4 warm plates, place about 1/2-cup of the vegetable mixture and 1 soft-shell crab, surround with the butter herb sauce.

SOFT-SHELLED CRABS MEUNIèRE

Steps:

• Combine milk, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and soak crabs 5 minutes. Lift 1 crab out of milk, letting excess drip off, and dredge in flour. Knock off excess flour and transfer to a tray. Repeat with remaining crabs, arranging them in 1 layer as coated.
• Heat clarified butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté crabs, upside down, 2 minutes. Turn over and sauté until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
• Transfer crabs to a serving dish. Add butter pieces to skillet and cook until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Add lemon juice and parsley (mixture will bubble up) and remove from heat.
• Season sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over crabs.

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.

SPICY MARINADE FOR SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Steps:

• Combine the marinade ingredients and mix well.
• Add the cleaned crabs to the marinade and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Broil or grill the crabs for about 10-15 minutes, basting once with the sauce and turning halfway through cooking time.