2012 Ingredient of the Week 12: Lobster & Crab

The Hill Billy

Hi All:

This week's IotW is Lobster & Crab.

tHB

sdp

Crab croustades,
quick and easy little dish we have with drinks on st Stephen's day ,

Croustades,( can be used for any filling and will keep for up to a month in an airtight container, handy for christmas )
4 slices of white or wholemeal bread
1 tbsp of melted butter,
pastry cutter
bun tin,
remove crusts and roll out bread till nice and flat, brush with melted butter and stamp out 3 pieces per slice, but bread, butter side down in bun tin and bake in pre heated oven 180c for 10-12 mins should be crisp and golden, remove and cool

crab ( this will fill 12 croustades and will double up no problem )
200g white crabmeat
1.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
grated zest and juice of one lime
1 tbsp of chopped corriander, finely chopped
2 spring onions finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 tbsp mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
all but the red chilli into bowl and mix, divide into baskets and sprinkle with the red chilli,

Minder

Crab with linguine. Cook your linguine of choice and drain. I like to chuck the colander back on the pot to catch a little of the cooking liquid as I'll use that later. Fry a couple of smashed and finely chopped cloves of garlic until soft and fragrant. Add chopped chilli to taste then add the crab and a little of the cooking water to make a steam. Chuck in the linguine and cover with a lid to warm it all up. Add handfuls of chopped parsley and some finely grated lemon rind. Season, mix well and serve.

Minder

Baked crab in their shells. Male crabs tend to be more expensive and have larger claws with better meat yield. Cook brown crabs for 12 to 15 minutes in heavily salted water. Pick the meat out and save the brown meat as well as the white.

1oz butter
1 shallot, peeled, finely chopped
3 tbsp brandy
3fl oz double cream
½ tsp English mustard
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ lemon, juice only
cooked brown crabs, meat picked, shell reserved
1oz parmesan cheese, grated
1oz fresh breadcrumbs
a little grated nutmeg
seasoning

Finely dice the shallot and fry in the butter until soft. Add the brandy and flame for a minute, then add the cream. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Pile into the crab shells and bake at 190c for 12 minutes.

Minder

Peter Kuruvita: Crab curry

This recipe is a favourite of mine. I first cooked after I bought Peter's book. It calls for drumstick leaves but can be made without.

The original recipe calls for 2 green mud crabs (about 1.25kg each), but I found prepared frozen blue swimmer crabs that are perfect for this.
400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
1 piece goroka
1 cinnamon quill
1 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp cumin seeds, dry-roasted and ground
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
¼ tsp ground turmeric
50 gm ghee
3 small onions, finely chopped
10 gm (2cm) piece ginger, finely chopped
10 fresh curry leaves
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
3 small green chillies, finely chopped
5 cm piece pandanus leaf
¼ tsp dill seeds
1 cup (loosely packed) coriander leaves
½ a lime, juice only


Place crabs in freezer for 1 hour to immobilise them, then kill each crab humanely by inserting a knife into the centre of the head and splitting through the middle. Pull off top shells, pull out the spongy grey gills and remove guts. Chop each crab into 6 pieces, then crack the large claws but leave attached.

Combine crab in a bowl with coconut milk, goroka, cinnamon, chilli powder, cumin, fenugreek and turmeric, stand for 20 minutes.

Heat ghee in a wide saucepan over high heat, add onion, ginger, curry leaves, lemongrass, chillies and pandanus, cook until onion is golden (5 minutes). Add dill seeds, cook another 2 minutes, add crab mixture. Cover and simmer until crab is just cooked through and sauce has thickened (12 minutes). Pick out crab meat (or use whole crab pieces) then return picked meat to sauce. Add coriander and lime juice, season to taste with salt.

Curry Addict

Minder wrote: »

Peter Kuruvita: Crab curry

This recipe is a favourite of mine. I first cooked after I bought Peter's book. It calls for drumstick leaves but can be made without.

The original recipe calls for 2 green mud crabs (about 1.25kg each), but I found prepared frozen blue swimmer crabs that are perfect for this.
400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
1 piece goroka
1 cinnamon quill
1 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp cumin seeds, dry-roasted and ground
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
¼ tsp ground turmeric
50 gm ghee
3 small onions, finely chopped
10 gm (2cm) piece ginger, finely chopped
10 fresh curry leaves
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
3 small green chillies, finely chopped
5 cm piece pandanus leaf
¼ tsp dill seeds
1 cup (loosely packed) coriander leaves
½ a lime, juice only


Place crabs in freezer for 1 hour to immobilise them, then kill each crab humanely by inserting a knife into the centre of the head and splitting through the middle. Pull off top shells, pull out the spongy grey gills and remove guts. Chop each crab into 6 pieces, then crack the large claws but leave attached.

Combine crab in a bowl with coconut milk, goroka, cinnamon, chilli powder, cumin, fenugreek and turmeric, stand for 20 minutes.

Heat ghee in a wide saucepan over high heat, add onion, ginger, curry leaves, lemongrass, chillies and pandanus, cook until onion is golden (5 minutes). Add dill seeds, cook another 2 minutes, add crab mixture. Cover and simmer until crab is just cooked through and sauce has thickened (12 minutes). Pick out crab meat (or use whole crab pieces) then return picked meat to sauce. Add coriander and lime juice, season to taste with salt.

looks like a wonderful recipe. i bought his book "Serendip" a few years ago, its the best presented cook book ive ever seen, if only all cookbook makers took such pride in their product! sri lankan kitchen is really fascinating. its somewhere between south indian and thai with their own unique ingredients as well and very fish orientated which is my favorite food type. I have made some recipes from the book and really enjoyed.
thanks for this recipe, i will make it soon :pac:
I wonder did you manage to source goroka here? and if so where?

Minder

I did find goroka or kokum online. I've checked the same site, but they don't carry it anymore.