Stuffed Crabs Recipe

Stuffed Crabs Recipe

4 cooked crabs weighing about 450g each

3 tablespoons oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 green chilies, finely chopped

2 teaspoons freshly grated or pureed ginger

2 teaspoons crushed or pureed garlic

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground fennel

50g sweet red pepper, finely chopped

Salt to taste

1 fresh tomato, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice

50g butter

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

25g fresh breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves

shredded lettuce, to serve

Method:

Lay the cooked crab on its back and break off the claws and legs with a twisting action.  Tap the claws and legs gently with a rolling pin to crack them without breaking into lots of small pieces.  Extract the meat and discard the shells.  Pull the center portion from the main shell.  Extract the meat with a teaspoon.  Use a skewer for the stubborn bits.  Discard the thick dark-brown bits.  Discard the stomach sac, gills and lungs.  Wash the shells and wipe dry with absorbent kitchen paper.  Brush lightly with oil.  Heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the onion, green chilies and ginger until the onions are soft but not brown.  Add the coriander, fennel, pepper and salt.  Cook for 1 minute and add the tomato.  Cook for a further minute.  Add the crabmeat and lime juice, mix well and cook gently until the crabmeat is heated through.  Remove from the heat and keep hot.  Heat the butter gently and fry the garlic until light brown, then add the breadcrumbs.  Stir until the breadcrumbs are browned, stir in the dill and remove.  Put the spiced crabmeat into the shells.  Top with the spiced breadcrumbs and serve on a bed of shredded lettuce.