Soft Shell Crab With Lemon Herb Butter And Spring Vegetable Ragout Recipes

BASIC VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Steps:

• In a large hot saucepan heat oil. Add onion, 1/3 of garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme and saute until onions and garlic are fragrant. Stir in zucchini, 1/3 garlic and tarragon, partially cover pan and cook for approximately 3 minutes or until zucchini has begun to soften. Stir in plum tomatoes with juice, 1/3 garlic and basil, partially cover pan and cook for 7 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Serve over rice. Top with Parmesan.

PAN SEARED WILD ROCKFISH AND SOFT SHELL CRAB TEMPURA WITH GINGER AND YUZU GLAZE, CUCUMBER AND TOASTED NORI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a deep saucepan, heat canola oil to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, toss cucumbers with rice vinegar, set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine about 1 tablespoon canola oil and the ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and lime juice, boil until reduced by half. Fold in crabmeat, season mixture with salt, set aside.
• Place flour on a plate. Season the rockfish with salt and lightly dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat about 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add rockfish, skin side down, just until skin is crisp, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook to brown other side, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove fillets to a cutting board, cut fillets in half horizontally. Top half the pieces with the crab mixture and sandwich back together. Wrap portions individually in waxed or parchment paper.
• Place on a baking sheet and bake until fish is cooked through and crab stuffing is hot, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dip crabs in Tempura Batter and fry until lightly brown and crispy, about 3 minutes, drain quickly on paper towel and cut in half.
• To serve: On the bottom of the plate, place a few cucumber slices. Drizzle with Yuzu Glaze. Remove rockfish from waxed paper and sprinkle sides with some of the Nori Flakes. Place rockfish over cucumber, plate soft shell crab next to fish. Sprinkle with scallions and chilies. Sprinkle with remaining Nori Flakes and stick a Toasted Nori Triangle in each crab half.
• In a medium stainless steel bowl, whisk together rice flour, cornstarch, salt and ginger. Whisk in club soda. Refrigerate or keep this batter on ice until ready to fry. You may need to whisk in additional flour or water to adjust the batter if it stands.
• In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine ginger, orange juice, yuzu juice, soy sauce and chili garlic paste. Bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar and the 1 tablespoon water. Cook, without stirring, until the mixture turns a dark amber color, about 5 to 10 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally to prevent burning.
• When the sugar reaches the desired color, carefully whisk in the simmering yuzu mixture. Return to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch with enough water to form a smooth slurry. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the yuzu mixture a little at a time, letting it return to a boil between additions, until the mixture has thickened to a glaze. You may not need all of the cornstarch.
• Tear nori into small pieces. Grind to a fine powder in batches in a coffee or spice grinder.
• Using a sharp knife cut to cut nori into 12 small triangles.
• In a medium skillet over medium heat, add sesame oil. Add triangles, cook, turning once, until crisped and shiny on both sides, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels.

CLASSIC SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Steps:

• Place the milk in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the crabs and let soak for 5 minutes. Place the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil and clarified butter in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Lift the crabs out of the milk, one at a time, letting the excess drip off, and dredge in the seasoned flour.
• Add the crabs, without crowding, to the skillet and saute, in batches, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the crabs to a warm platter. Discard the oil from the skillet.
• To make the sauce, return the skillet to the heat, add the butter pieces, and cook until golden brown. Add the lemon juice and parsley and remove from the heat. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over the crabs.
• Clarified butter has a higher smoke point than regular butter and can be used to cook at higher temperatures. (The smoke point is the temperature at which oil or fat starts to smoke and break down.) When clarified, butter loses about one fourth of its original volume. To clarify butter, cut unsalted butter into 1-inch pieces and melt over low heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. It will begin to sizzle as the water evaporates. When the butter stops sizzling, the water has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat and let the butter stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spoon, skim the froth off the top and discard. Slowly pour the molten butter into a measuring cup, leaving the milky solids in the bottom of the pan. Discard the milky solids. Pour the clarified butter into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

SOFT-SHELL CRAB WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Season the flour for dredging: mix together flour, cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika and salt in a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of the crabs in flour mixture and shake off excess.
• Put 4 tablespoons melted butter in a large, wide cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When butter is hot, carefully put in the crabs, top side down. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, until well crisped and cooked through. Remove crabs to a warmed platter. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Add 4 more tablespoons melted butter to pan and add sliced almonds. Stir to coat and cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add preserved lemon and cilantro and turn off heat.
• Spoon butter sauce over crabs, surround with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

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.

PAN-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

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.

SOFT-SHELL CRAB WITH LEMON BUTTER

Steps:

• Make the coating: in a shallow dish, stir the all the coating ingredients together.
• Remove the feeler underneath the crab shells on both sides; rinse the crab and dry carefully.
• In a big skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the vegetable oil; add in shallots and saute until lightly softened, about 1 minute.
• Roll the crabs in the flour mixture and place them in the skillet; saute, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side.
• When they have finished cooking and have turned pink, add the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and cook another minute or two.
• Make sure the garlic is cooked but not browned; taste for seasoning.
• Transfer the crabs to individual plates and garnish with lemon and parsley; serve immediately.