Baked garlic crab (with a tinge of sadness)

Posted by Daryl Pereira

Christmas is coming up and we decided to eschew tradition and take up the $2.99 per lb offer on Dungeness crab at the local Asian market. The deal was gone but we had the fishmonger pull one of the crustaceans out of the tank.

That was the easy part.

We left the crab in the fridge and transfered to the freezer half an hour prior to cleaning. Now things got fun. This guy on YouTube makes cleaning a live crab look like a doddle.



He wasn't half as dazed as expected when I pulled him out of the bag, clawing wildly (and to anthropomorphize, I swear he was pissed off). Being a squeamish landlubber, I dropped him straight back in into the bag and started hyper-ventilating.

Plan number two. We boiled up some water in the largest pot we could find, adding a liberal amount of salt and plopped him in a maneuver that was more speed than grace. There was a dull squeal from the water (that I remember as a child), although I'm not sure exactly what caused it.

Ten minutes later we had par-boiled crab on our hands, which I could handle when doused in cold water. The top shell now came off easily and the rest of the cleaning went just like the afore-mentioned video. Phew.

I decided to follow this Recipezaar recipe for garlic crab. Half a head of garlic, a small onion and a couple of teaspoons of red chilly flakes when into the blender until finelly chopped. I only used about a quarter-cup of butter and about 3 tablespoons of oil. This mixture was baked in the oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown and then this mixture liberally applied to the crab. I added some sea salt and placed back in the oven for a further ten minutes.

A garnish of parsley and that was it. The sweetness of the crab contrasted well with the roasted garlic and onion. Even sucking the shell was a treat. We feasted on this with little more than a salad and some tortillas to soak up the buttery juice. I'm sure the simplest Christmas meal I've ever had, and truly memorable!

Footnote:

The taste for me was slightly marred by the thought that this Dungeness crab had put up a valiant battle to the last but his fate was as sealed as that of the lonely bull in the bullfight. They say you should see what happens to your dinner on the way to the table. In this case I found it tough to abstract the animal to talk about 'the meat' - I saw a noble animal of the sea whose time was up the day he got caught. BTW, I talk about the crab as a 'him' but this is mere speculation on my part.

The perfect Amer-Indian brunch

You thought it couldn't work. The cooking of the two cultures are just too far removed. But you're wrong - we've proved it.

On the occidental corner you have short stacks of fluffly pancakes, pork processed and fried in every conceivable way, the obligatory egg and a topping of crispy hash browns if you are lucky. In the oriental corner sits spicy chutneys waiting to jerk your tastebuds to life, flattened breads of wheat and chickpea and creamy curd sauces.

Being of Indian heritage, but born and raised in the West, I know I can easily go either way. However with the sun streaming through on this fresh Sunday morning in November, I felt the need to appease both sides of my essence. Gladly, the experiment yielded satiating results.

We started with Uttapam - the hearty chickpea pancake from South India. I confess to not making this from scratch but using a packet of Gita's (most Indian shops tend to stock some variation). Whilst one side fried, the top was laden with sliced onions, tomatoes and coriander. Oil was dotted on the edges before flipping - a tip from the packet - releasing the edges and making it easier to slide under the spatula.

While this was happening, Natalie concentrated on the tomato chutney. We've had good results in the past using this tomato chutney recipe.

Over-easy eggs were the last addition. I seem to be improving on these and having a better crack at producing a suitably runny yolk. My method - a well greased hot frying pan, turning the egg as soon as is possible and removing shortly after.

And then, the assembly. Uttapam on the base, the over-easy egg on top and a liberal helping of the tomato chutney (although beware - this can burn with a searing heat). Dip morsels of the Uttapam in both the y0lk and the chutney for the full effect.

Posted by Daryl Pereira

Shroom Pate

from the land of pate and terrines, yet another scrumptious recette for mushroom pate.

dried mushroom (soaked, reserve water)
fresh mushrooms
onion
garlic
creme fraiche
soft cheese
(additional - truffle, herbs)

saute onion, then add fresh mushroom, garlic and season. add the remaining mushroom and saute till almost dry. blend together with creme fraiche and soft cheese and herbs, truffles..et voila. excellent with crackers or bread.

Tapenades

living in Provence has given me many rich culinary moments..hopefully i come away with some good recipes and knowledge.

my favorite time of the day here is 'apero' time - just before dinner. time for a small drink and 'amuses bouches' - something to amuse the mouth. tapenade is served a lot in bars/restaurants and i thought i'd give it a go at home after living here 2 years. yum.

Tapenade

good amount of black olives
2 filet anchovies
little piece of garlic
spoon of capers
bit of lemon
olive oil

blend all and serve with bread, toasties..

Tapenade Verte

good amount of green olives
2 filet anchovies
little piece of garlic
spoon of capers
fresh or dried thyme
olive oil

haven't tried this one yet. was thinking to replace the anchovies with some soaked and peeled almonds to make it vegetarian.

Ramadan - September 2007

wow, a tagine like this doesn't come along too often. Fadel (who is a chef) created this sublime dish with lamb, onions, prunes, apricots, almonds, little tomato concentrate (spices - paprika, little cumin, lot of cinnamon, honey and saffron). he fried the meat with honey and oil, tossed the onions in with the tomatoes and spices. he let it cook for 1/2 hour or so, added the fruit/almonds and voila - scrumptious tagine served with bread and salad. yum.
this tagine came after 'breakfast' which was served after the sun went down - moroccan sweets, harrira (veg soup), eggs cheese. after the tagine came dessert - pear sorbet with vanilla ice cream topped with chantilly (whipped cream). mon dieu. apparently this happens the whole month of ramadan. feast and famine my friend.

Crawfish (Ecrevisse) Chowder

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter	2 tbsp flour
1 chopped onion	300gm or so cooked crawfish
500ml or so milk or soja milk	1 can corn
1 can whole kernel corn	1 potato
2 pods of garlic chopped fine	1/2 cup chopped parsley (opt) 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup green onion (opt)	salt, pepper to taste
Directions
In a medium saucepan over low heat blend together the butter then add flour. Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic - maybe with a little oil if it starts to burn. Cook until veggies are tender. Add corn, milk, cayenne pepper, potato and blend well. Add pepper to taste and add crawfish. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat stirring to prevent scorching. Add the parsley and green onions and cook for 5 minutes more.

we see a fair bit of crawfish in the south of france and this hearty number hits the spot.

Summer Soups

this summer was definitely filled with cold soups. from cucumber/mint, beetroot, melon, vichyssoise, avocado/cucumber to the old fave gazpacho - we had them all. an easy and tasty way to get your weggies up.
Recipes usually included plain yogurt, shallots, chive and stock - a little of whatever was around - creme fraiche if feeling special. hand blend all ingredients and chill very well.

cucumber/mint soup

2 cucumbers
handful fresh mint, some chives if handy
2 pots natural yogurt
salt, pepper to taste

c'est tout! blend and chill.

beetroot soup

2 cooked beetroot
300ml or so stock of choice
1 pot yogurt or 3-4 tablespoons creme fraiche
small onion
salt, pepper to taste

melon soup

1 orange or green melon
1 onion
2 pots yogurt
chives or other herbs
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinager (could use another type here)
bit of water maybe
salt, pepper to taste