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Main Dishes
- Seafood |
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INGREDIENTS:
8 soft shell crabs cleaned (see note)
1 cp milk
flour for dusting
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs olive oil
For the warm tomato-basil vinaigrette
1 cp red pear or cherry tomatoes (approximately 10-12 tomatoes),
halved
1 cp yellow pear or cherry tomatoes (approximately 10-12
tomatoes), halved
1/2 cp red beefsteak tomato cut in 1" dice
1/2 cp yellow beefsteak tomato cut in 1" dice
1 shallot minced
1/4 cp fresh basil leaves cut julienne
1/3 -1/2 cp extra virgin olive oil to taste
1/4 cp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the wilted spinach
1lb fresh spinach rinsed well and stems trimmed
1 tbs olive oil
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DIRECTIONS:
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.
Note: 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.
Serves: 6
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