Fresh or canned, crab makes for light, tasty summer fare

By CLAIRE HOPLEY

Published on August 17, 2007

IN New England the lobster reigns as the best and most beloved crustacean. This is theoretically true on the other side of the Atlantic too, but whereas we can easily acquire a lobster, if at some cost, in much of Europe they are harder to come by and the cost is often prohibitive. As a result, people there pay more attention to crabs, while New Englanders often neglect them, even though they can be caught in plenty off our shores. They taste good so it's a pity to ignore them, especially this year when lobsters are more costly than ever.

Like lobsters, crab require picking over, and like lobsters, they yield both a pale firm meat - mostly from the claws in the case of crab - plus a mushy brown meat from the body. The weight of the edible parts of a crab is roughly one-third of its body weight (while in its shell), and of this two-thirds will be the brownish meat from the main cavity. Though this looks less desirable and is not usually the bit that cooks display in their dishes, it is so flavorful that it should not be discarded.

In addition to fresh crabs, canned crab can also be made into delicious summer dishes. The cans to look for are not those the size of tuna cans and usually stacked near the tuna in the supermarket. This crabmeat has pretty pink-and-white good looks, but it is so tasteless that you can see why the Japanese thought it worthwhile to invent surimi as a substitute. A much better bet are the large 1-pound cans of crabmeat that can be found on the refrigerated cases near the fish counters in local markets, including Big Y, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. This pasteurized, wild-caught crab has much more flavor and can be used in any recipe for fresh crab with success. These cans cost from $6.99 and up, cheaper than almost all other fish and seafood.

People who like lobster generally like crab, and some lobster recipes can be made with crab as a substitute. Crab Thermidor is one possibility, and it is also possible to make curried crab.

But just as we have classic lobster dishes, so there are also classic crab dishes that are truly delicious. On this side of the Atlantic the best known are probably Maryland crab cakes and She-crab soup. Both of these call for crab species that come from farther south.

Perhaps because of the love of lobsters, New England has not developed a favorite crab dish, but since our local crabs are pretty much the same as the ones in northern Europe, their recipes work well for us.

They include Dressed Crabs from England - crabmeat presented on its shell, the brown meat on the bottom and the white on top - usually served with cucumber.

England also has recipes for potted crab in which layers of brown and white crab are cooked in butter then sealed in their pots with a layer of clarified butter. Scotland has a crab soup called Partan Bree, while Ireland has crab pies. The Basques who live in southern France and northern Spain have a dish call Txanguuro, which is crab cooked with garlic and tomatoes and returned either to its shells or a gratin dish, topped with crumbs then baked.

None of these dishes is difficult to make, but in a sense they are a little atypical because, like many seafoods, crabs are so tasty that often they are served in the simplest of ways: in sandwiches, or as a simple cocktail with mayonnaise, or as a salad. Crabs are terrific in summer: fresh, light, easy to serve, and enjoyed by most people. Here are some recipes.

CRAB COCKTAIL WITH DILL AND MINT

This is a version of crab mayonnaise, a classic crab dish. You can make up your own variation simply be seasoning crab with herbs - parsley, chives, dill are all good - plus a tiny dash of something hot like cayenne or Tabasco, and stirring in enough mayonnaise to hold everything together. This recipe has Norwegian overtones and comes from "Kitchen of Light" (Artisan, 2001) by the Norwegian writer Andreas Viestad. He calls for 2 pounds of crabmeat and suggests this as an appetizer for 6-8 people. You could halve it if you prefer.

2/3 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 pounds crabmeat

6-8 thin slices of lemon for garnish

24 fresh mint leaves for garnish

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar and dill. In a separate bowl whip the cream until stiff. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mayonnaise mixture. Layer the crabmeat and mayonnaise mixture into martini glasses or bowls. Garnish each one with a slice of lemon and a few mint leaves, then serve.

MARYLAND CRAB CAKES

This classic American dish comes in many forms. The secret is not to overdo the breadcrumbs and thus make the cakes stodgy.

1 pound crab meat

1 cup bread crumbs, or a little more as necessary

1 egg

2 tablespoons mayonnaise or more as needed

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons lemon juice

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons snipped chives

2 tablespoons snipped dill

1 teaspoon dried oregano

dash cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

oil for frying

Mix the crab meat with all the other ingredients except the oil. You should be able to form the mixture into cakes that cohere but are not stodgy. To achieve this you may need to adjust the mixture either by adding more breadcrumbs if the cakes threaten to fall apart or more mayonnaise if they seem too stiff. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and fry it for a minute. Taste for seasoning. Adjust the seasoning if it seems necessary. Now form into 8 portions and fry for 3-4 minutes each side.

CRAB AND RICE SALAD

This recipe is adapted from Elizabeth David's "Summer Cooking" (Penguin, 1965).

2 cups just-cooked rice

2 lemons

freshly grated nutmeg to taste

salt and pepper to taste

about 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

About 11/2 cups claw meat from fresh or canned crab

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips (yellow peppers also work well)

3 white mushrooms, sliced

about 10 pitted black olives

1 teaspoon chopped parsley or chives

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

While the rice is still warm, season it with the juice of one of the lemons, the nutmeg, salt and pepper, then stir in just enough oil to moisten it.

Reserve the best-looking pieces of crab. Gently mix the rest of the crab into the rice along with the pepper strips, mushroom slices, olives and chopped parsley or chives (or both if you prefer). Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top and serve with the remaining lemon cut into wedges for squeezing.

TXANGURRO

This Basque dish of stuffed crab is pronounced Shangurro. It's a good dish to make with local tomatoes. This recipe is adapted from Rick Stein's "Complete Seafood by Rick Stein" (Ten Speed Press, 2004).

11/4 pounds fresh crab meat ( about 31/2 cups), including about 4 ounces of the brown meat if possible. (2 largish cooked crabs should yield enough)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, minced

4 large plum tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped

9 small garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 heaped cup fresh white breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Clean out the shells if using fresh crab; or grease 4-6 individual gratin dishes or ramekins.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the onions and all except one minced garlic clove. Fry over gentle heat for a few minutes until softened. Increase the heat and add the tomatoes, wine, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 4 minutes until the mixture is a thick sauce.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley and the crabmeat and spoon the mixture into the shells or the prepared dishes. Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining parsley and garlic and the melted butter. Sprinkle the mixture over the crab and bake for 10 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp.

CRAB AND SHRIMP

GRATIN

Recipes that combine crab and shrimp are quite common, perhaps because in many places crab is so expensive that shrimp are a good way of filling it out. They taste good together, however, so this is by no means Spartan fare. Canned crabmeat works well in this.

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk

4 ounces grated cheddar or gruyere

salt and pepper to taste

dash cayenne

1 pound canned crabmeat

1/4 pound 60-count (i.e. smallish) shrimp, cooked and shelled

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 breadcrumbs from day old bread

Preheat the broiler. In a small pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Off the heat, stir in the flour to make a stiff paste. Thin it with a little of the milk and, when it is smooth, add about a third of a cup of the milk and stir it over the heat.

As it thickens, add the remaining milk and continue cooking until it simmers and is thick. Stir in about three-quarters of the grated cheese, and when it has melted, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Stir in the crabmeat and the shrimp and parsley, and turn into a greased gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and toss the crumbs in it, then mix with the remaining cheese.

Sprinkle this mixture on top, then place about 3-4 inches under the preheated broiler and broil for about 4-5 minutes or until the crumbs have browned and the cheese has melted, together forming a topping.