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Chef Don's
Favorite Cape Cod Seafood Recipes
Sautéed Soft Shell Crabs with Lemon Tomato Pesto
Serves 4
8 Soft Shell Crabs
1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic, powdered
1 1/2 Tbsp. Butter
2 tsp. Oil
1 lb. Fresh Pasta
1 Tbsp. Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Sundried Tomato Pesto
2 Tbsp. White Wine
1 Lemon, juiced
2 tsp. Lemon Zest
8 oz. Baby Spinach
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine the flour, cayenne, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.
After cleaning each crab, dredge in the flour mixture. Heat the oil and
butter in a sauté pan until hot. Sautee the crabs over medium
high heat until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the
pan and place into a warm oven. Add the wine and lemon juice to the pan
and deglaze. Add the pesto and garlic and stir. Add the spinach and
wilt. Add the pasta, zest and parmesan and combine. Adjust seasonings.
Place the pasta in a mound off center on the plate. Arrange the crabs
on the side of the pasta. Spoon any excess sauce over the crabs,
garnish with lemon and serve.
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Cleaning Soft-Shell Crabs
As simple as a couple of snips and a rinse.
From Cooking Light Online
When buying soft-shell crabs, live ones are the best but they’re not
always easy to find. To select the tastiest, use your nose. When fresh,
they smell clean and astringent, like sea mist—a fitting aroma for a
delicacy that both captures the romance of the sea and the allure of a
full moon in spring.
1. To clean soft-shell crabs, hold the
crab in one hand, and using a pair of kitchen shears, cut off the front
of the crab, about 1/2 inch behind the eyes and mouth.
Squeeze out the contents of the sack located directly behind the cut you just made.
2. Lift one pointed end of the crab’s outer shell; remove and discard the gills. Repeat on the other side.
3.
Turn the crab over and snip off the small flap known as the apron.
Rinse the entire crab well and pat dry. Once cleaned, crabs should be
cooked or stored immediately.
Storing Soft-Shell Crabs
Soft-shell crabs are often stored at very cold temperatures to keep the
shell from hardening and to prevent decomposition if they die. Store
cleaned crabs wrapped in plastic wrap in the coldest part of the
refrigerator for up to two days.
Eating Soft Shell Crabs
Soft-shell crabs are among the most delectable, and the most seasonal,
of sea creatures. Maryland Blue crabs molt between mid-May and late
September, and for two days the crab's brand-new shell is as tender as
a fresh basil leaf. Besides being succulent, soft-shells are clean:
they stop eating three days before molting, so their digestive systems
are purified when the watermen retrieve them from the floats where
they're kept. And, yes, you do eat the whole thing. |
| Ring Bros. Marketplace |
| 485 Route 134, South Dennis, Cape Cod |
| 508-394-2244 |
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