Soft-Shell Crabs with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Submitted by erint
Crispy flour-dredged soft-shell crabs served on a pool of creamy tomato sauce with creme fraiche, cumin seeds, celery seeds, garlic, and shallots. A restaurant-worthy crab dish with a make-ahead sauce.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minThis is soft-shell crab done right: crispy, flour-dredged crabs set on a bed of rich, creamy tomato sauce spiked with cumin seeds, celery seeds, and crushed red pepper. The sauce can be made a full day ahead, which means the actual dinner comes together in about 15 minutes of frying.
Six cloves of garlic and six shallots, both thinly sliced, build a sweet, aromatic base for the tomato sauce. Cooking them until the shallots go translucent and the garlic barely begins to brown is the window. Push the garlic past light gold and it turns bitter, which poisons the whole sauce.
Cumin seeds and celery seeds are an unusual pairing for seafood, but they work. Cumin adds earthy warmth while celery seed brings a sharp, vegetal note that echoes the bay flavors of the crab itself. Crème fraîche stirred in at the end gives the sauce a tangy richness that heavy cream alone can’t match.
Frying the crabs in batches of four keeps the pan hot enough for a proper sear. Crowding drops the temperature and steams the crabs into soggy shells.
Chef Tips
- Pat the crabs bone-dry before dredging. Wet crabs make the flour gummy instead of crispy.
- Use a nonreactive skillet (stainless or nonstick) for the tomato sauce. Cast iron reacts with the acid and can give the sauce a metallic taste.
- Three minutes per side gives you red, crisp shells with tender crab meat inside. Don’t overcook.
- Spoon the sauce onto warm plates first, then place the crabs on top for the best presentation.
Variations
- Swap the crème fraîche for sour cream thinned with a tablespoon of milk.
- Add a splash of white wine to the sauce after the tomatoes for more acidity.
- Serve with crusty bread to soak up every drop of the creamy tomato sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large nonreactive skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are translucent and the garlic begins to brown, 5 to 6 minutes (don’t let the garlic get too brown or it will be bitter).
Stir in the cumin and celery seeds, red pepper and ½ teaspoon each of the salt and black pepper.
Cook for 1 minute longer.
Stir in the sugar and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
Add the creme fraiche and simmer for 6 minutes longer.
Cover and keep warm. (The sauce can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.)
Preheat the oven to 250F.
On a plate, toss the flour with the remaining ½ teaspoon each of salt and black pepper.
Pat the crabs dry with paper towels and dredge them in the seasoned flour.
In a large skillet, preferably nonstick, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderately high heat.
Add 4 of the crabs and cook, turning once, until red and crisp, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer the crabs to a heatproof platter and place in the oven to keep warm.
Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 4 crabs.
To serve, spoon the tomato sauce onto 4 warmed plates and arrange 2 crabs on the sauce on each plate.
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