12 Simple Crab Recipes To Make At Home

Stracci With Crab, Chilli, Garlic & Saffron: Matt Beardmore, Legare

INGREDIENTS

• 150g of brown crab meat

• 150g of white crab meat

• 50g of butter

• 1 small pinch of saffron

• 1 tsp of dried chilli 

• ½ lemon, juiced

• 1 tbsp of chopped chives 

For the pasta:

• 270g of 00 pasta flour

• 7 free-range eggs 

OR

• 500g of good-quality dried pasta such as linguine or tagliatelle

For the sauce:

• 1 can of whole peeled plum tomatoes

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 50ml of olive oil

• 1 pinch of sea salt 

METHOD

1. Begin by making the pasta dough. Separate 6 of the 7 eggs and mix the yolks with the remaining whole egg.

2. Place the flour in a mixing bowl and gradually mix in the egg until it comes together to form a loose dough. Knead until the dough is smooth.

3. Wrap dough tightly in cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally overnight.

4. Once rested, take out of the fridge and leave to warm up a little to make it easier to roll.

5. Now start to roll the pasta. Start by rolling it out with a rolling pin until it is thin enough to go through a pasta machine on the thickest setting (if you don’t have a pasta machine you can use a rolling pin for the entire pasta making process, keep rolling your dough until it is approximately 1-2mm thick. This can be quite tricky so I would recommend using good quality dried pasta if you don’t have a pasta machine). 

6. Roll the dough through the machine on the thickest setting, then fold the dough over into three and roll out a little.

7. Rotate 90º and pass through the machine again. Repeat this process until the dough becomes silky smooth.

8. Now you have folded and put your dough through the pasta machine a few times, you need to begin to decrease the thickness setting. Pass the dough through, decreasing the setting by one each time, until the pasta has reached 1-2mm thickness. Have your flour handy in case the dough becomes sticky and needs dusting.

9. Once you have reached the desired thickness, cut the pasta into rough triangles, around 10cm in length with a knife or a pizza cutter, or even just tear it. Lightly dust with flour to make sure they are not sticking together. Store lightly bundled on a tray and cover with a damp tea towel until ready to be used.

10. To make the sauce, finely slice the garlic and put in a small saucepan with the olive oil. Cook on a very low heat until the garlic is soft but hasn’t begun to brown.

11. Strain the tomatoes and discard the juice. Add the tomatoes to the pan with the garlic. Crush them a little to help them on their way.

12. Cook down gently for 30-45 minutes until you can see the oil rise to the surface and you have a rich sauce. Season with salt.

13. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil for the pasta.

14. Carefully pick through the crab meat to ensure there are no shell fragments remaining.

15. Now stir the butter into the tomato sauce, when melted stir in the brown crab meat, dried chilli and the saffron. Careful now, that saffron is powerful stuff!

16. The rest of the sauce will be assembled while the pasta is cooking so set it aside briefly and have your white crab, lemon juice and chives at the ready.

17. Drop your pasta in the water and cook for 1-2 minutes (or according the packet if using dried).

18. Meanwhile, fold the white crab meat through the sauce.

19. Drain off the pasta, retaining a little of the pasta water and add to the sauce along with the chives and lemon juice. 

20. Toss together with a little of the pasta water until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the pasta. Adjust seasoning with salt/chilli/lemon to taste if required and serve.

Visit LegareLondon.com

Crab, Lemon & Herb Tartines: Abel & Cole

Tartines are French open sandwiches, and for this bright, summery spin we’ve used golden toasted slices of organic seeded sourdough topped with a cool creamy mix of fresh crab, lemon chives and crème fraîche. Perfect for a light lunch, or quarter the toast to make mini tartines for serving with drinks.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lemon

• A handful of chives

• 100g of crème fraîche

• 100g of white Cornish crab meat

• Sea salt

• Freshly ground pepper

• 4 thick slices of seven seeded sourdough 

METHOD

1. Finely grate the zest from half the lemon into a mixing bowl. Finely chop the chives and add most of them to the bowl (keep a pinch back for garnishing). Add the crème fraîche and most of the crab meat (keep a little back for garnishing).

2. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir together to mix. Taste and add a pinch more salt or pepper if you think it needs it.

3. Toast the slices of bread till golden. Spoon the crab, lemon and herb crème fraîche over the toast. Top with the chives and any remaining crab meat. Pare a little extra zest off the lemon and sprinkle over the top. Serve with wedges of lemon on the side for squeezing.

Visit AbelAndCole.co.uk

Homemade Crab Cakes: FishWorks

INGREDIENTS 

• 450g of white crab meat 

• 2 chillies, finely chopped and seeds removed 

• A handful of coriander, chopped 

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced 

• 25g of ginger, finely chopped 

• 200-300g of breadcrumbs 

• 200g of flour

• 4 eggs 

• 150ml of milk 

• 150g of mashed potatoes (if needed)

• Vegetable oil for pan 

• Salt and pepper for seasoning  

METHOD

1. Combine the crab meat with the chilli, ginger, spring onions and coriander in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients together and add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs whilst mixing to solidify the mixture. You can add you mash at this stage, if you wish however for a richer seafood taste, leave your mash out!

2. Allow the mixture to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. 

3. Mix the eggs and milk in a bowl and add salt and pepper to season. Place your flour in a separate bowl and your breadcrumbs in another third bowl.

4. Once your crab mix has been set, take the mixture and shape the crab cakes into a patty shape using your hands. You can use a metal ring if you have one or a cup for guidance. 

5. Coat each cake in flour first, the milk and egg mixture next and then the breadcrumbs. Make sure the whole cake is covered. Repeat a second time if you would like to make your crab cakes crispier. 

6. Pre-heat oven to 250°C or gas mark 9.

7. On full heat, heat up a flat pan half full of vegetable oil. Make sure you get the vegetable oil hot then turn the heat down to medium. 

8. Cook each crab cake for 2 minutes on each side and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. You’re now ready to serve.

Visit Fishworks.co.uk

Vietnamese Crab Noodles, AO Life

INGREDIENTS

• 150g of glass noodles or thin rice noodles

• 1 red chilli

• 2 spring onions

• 3 tbsp of finely chopped fresh coriander

• ¼ pomelo, or 1 grapefruit

• 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• 150g of cooked edamame beans

• Meat from 1 dressed crab

• 3 tbsp of sesame seeds, toasted

• 1 tbsp of yuzu juice (optional)

• Lime wedges, to serve

 For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp of grated fresh galangal or ginger

• Juice of 2 limes

• 1 tbsp of yuzu juice (or substitute with grapefruit juice/more lime juice)

• 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil

• 2 tbsp of light brown sugar

• 2 tsp of tamarind paste

• 2 tsp of soy sauce

• ½ tsp of salt

 METHOD

1. First, make the dressing. Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl, and taste. You might want it a little sweeter/sourer/saltier, so adjust to taste.

2. Put the glass noodles in a large bowl and pour over enough hot (but not boiling) water to cover. Leave for a couple of minutes, until they are softened but not soggy, then drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Drain again, then put the noodles in a sieve on a tea towel to dry out a little.

3. Deseed and finely chop the chilli and spring onions, and put aside in a small bowl with the coriander. Cut the skin off the pomelo quarter and use your fingers to separate the flesh from the pithy membranes and tear it into small chunks (if using a grapefruit, cut off the skin and use a sharp serrated knife to separate the segments from the pith).

4. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the garlic. Cook over a medium heat until it just turns golden, then turn off the heat. Add the noodles to the pan with the dressing, chilli, spring onions, coriander, pomelo/grapefruit, edamame beans and crab meat. Toss well to combine everything, then turn the heat on again just to warm everything through gently.

5. Divide between two bowls, drizzle with the yuzu, if using, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve with lime to squeeze over.

 Visit AO.com

Crab Ravioli With Tomato Sauce Vierge: Richard Bainbridge, Restaurant Benedicts 

INGREDIENTS

For the herb pasta: 

• 250g of 00 pasta flour 

• 10g of table salt

• 1 whole egg

• 3 egg yolks 

• Handful of soft herbs 

• Rapeseed oil  

For the crab filling:

• 2 dressed Cromer crabs

• 1 lime (juice and zest)

• Sea salt and white pepper for seasoning 

• 20g of chopped coriander  

For the tomato sauce vierge: 

• 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and diced 

• 100ml of olive oil

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1 tbsp of snipped basil leaves 

• ½ tbsp of snipped chervil

• ½ garlic clove, finely chopped 

• 3 coriander seeds, crushed 

• Salt and pepper to taste 

METHOD

1. Make the tomato sauce vierge in advance. Place the tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, garlic and coriander seeds. Mix gently and season with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, warm the sauce slightly in a saucepan on a low heat. 

2. Next, make your pasta dough. In a blender place all the eggs and the soft herbs and blend until a smooth purée. 

3. In a food processor place the flour and salt and pulse slowly adding your egg mixture. Once all combined you should end up with a soft green crumble add a few drops of rapeseed seed oil, transfer to a bowl and knead for a couple of minutes until it comes together to form a smooth ball which should feel moist but not wet. 

4. Wrap in cling and place in the fridge over night or for 30 minutes before use.

5. To make the filling, remove the white meat from your dressed crabs and place onto a cold tray, then, using your fingertips, pick though the crab. Once finished place into a bowl and place in the fridge.

6. Now remove the brown meat from the shell and place into a blender, blend until a smooth purée and remove from the blender. Add two tbsp of the brown meat to the white meat, add the lime zest, juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add coriander and place in the fridge until you are ready to make the raviolis. 

7. To make your ravioli, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter cut out dough rounds.

8. Using a tablespoon, place mounds of crab filling in the middle of dough rounds. Place an unfilled round on top of the filling and press the edges of the dough together firmly between thumb and forefinger. Moisten edges with a little water if they are not sealing properly. 

9. Place rounds on a surface that has been dusted with pasta flour and cover with a tea towel until needed. 

10. Once ready to cook place a large pot of water onto the stove top and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add your ravioli and simmer for about three minutes or until the pasta is just cooked. Remove from the water and lightly dry on kitchen towel before serving.

11. To dress, spoon a little of the sauce in the bottom of a bowl and place the ravioli on top. Garnish with a few garden herbs and salad leaves and serve warm. 

 
Visit RestaurantBenedicts.com

Spaghetti With Crab, Lemon, Chilli, Parsley & Radish Shavings: Love Radish

INGREDIENTS

• 500g of dried spaghetti
• 5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds
• 1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 150g of white crabmeat
• 50g of brown crabmeat
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 large bunch of parsley, shredded
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 50g of French breakfast radishes, very thinly sliced

METHOD

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.
2. While you are waiting for the spaghetti to cook, in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil, add the garlic, fennel seeds, and cook over a medium heat until the garlic starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the chilli, crab, lemon zest, juice and parsley.
3. Once the pasta is cooked drain thoroughly and then add to the pan with the crab sauce, season with sea salt and plenty of black pepper, mixing well. 
4. Dived between 4 warm bowls, sprinkle over the radishes and serve at once.

Visit LoveRadish.co.uk