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Title: Braised Soft-Shell Crabs With Tomatoes And Basil
Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

    1/2 c  white flour
    1/8 ts cayenne pepper
           Salt
           White pepper or black
           -pepper; ground
      8 md soft shell crab; cleaned
    1/2 c  milk
    1/4 c  olive oil
      2 tb butter
      1 md clove garlic; minced
      2 md shallots; minced
      1 c  dry white wine
      1 tb lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
     16 oz ( 1can) Italian plum
           -tomatoes, drai; chopped coa
    1/4 c  fresh basil, loosely packed;
           - julienned
           reserve 1 tablespoon for
           -garnish

Instructions

TO PREPARE:
Clean the soft-shell crabs.

Mix first 2 ingredients plus 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper,
and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to make seasoned flour. Dip each soft-shell
crab in the milk, then dredge in the seasoned flour.

TO COOK:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonreactive skillet. Working in batches
to avoid overcrowding and adding remaining 2 tablespoons oil as necessary,
saut‚ soft-shell crabs, turning once, until golden brown, about 6 minutes.
Remove crabs; cover and keep them warm. Discard pan drippings.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in the now empty skillet. Add garlic and shallots;
saut‚ until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and lemon juice; simmer
until liquid reduces to 1/2 cup, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil;
bring to simmer. Return soft-shell crabs to the skillet; cover and simmer
to blend flavors, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, swirl in remaining 1
tablespoon butter; season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black
pepper or to taste.

TO SERVE:
Transfer 2 soft-shell crabs and a portion of the sauce to each warm dinner
plate. Garnish with reserved basil and serve immediately.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : Saut‚ed crabs in a lightly-cooked tomato sauce accented with lemon
and white wine.

Chef Dirk Zephir often braises soft-shell crabs in a mixture of tomatoes
and white wine that can be used to sauce a side dish of your favorite
pasta.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 797 3773 2153 0

Contributor: Cook's Magazine June 1990

Preparation Time: 0:45

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