Soft Shell Crabs with Avocado Crema
Soft Shell Crabs with Avocado Crema
Make a splash with this soft shell crab dish, paired with a silky avocado crema and tart and tangy green salad. If only soft shell season could last just a little bit longer!
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado, cut in half lengthwise, peel and pit removed
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- Arugula or power green salad
- 1 fresh tomato, sliced into quarters or eighths
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1-2 cups vegetable oil for frying
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 TBSP Old Bay seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper for seasoning
- 1 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2-4 soft-shell crabs (depending on size), cleaned
Directions
- Step 1 Prepare avocado crema: Add first 4 ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with garlic salt.
- Step 2 Prepare your dredging station by lining up 3 shallow bowls or plates. Whisk flour, cayenne and Old Bay seasoning in the first bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place egg in the second bowl. In the last bowl, stir panko and garlic powder and again season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3 Dredge crabs in flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dip in egg, making sure to coat evenly. Dip last in the panko mixture, ensuring that you coat the whole crab.
- Step 4 Pour your oil into a large skillet to a depth of about 1/2″ and heat over medium-high heat until oil starts to bubble and crackle.
- Step 5 Working in batches if necessary, place crabs shell side down, in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Be careful, the oil will splatter! Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt and pepper before plating.
- Step 6 To plate, toss the lettuce and tomatoes with the olive oil, season with salt. Spread a healthy dollop of avocado crema on the bottom of the plate. Plate the salad on top of the avocado, then nestle the crabs on top and serve.
We were out to dinner last week and I did a little happy dance when I noticed what was on the specials menu: Soft Shell Crabs! That could only mean one thing, one of my favorite seafoods is back in season! Traditionally, soft-shell season is marked with the first full moon in May, and although this May’s full moon – the Flower Moon – isn’t actually until May 29, last month’s full moon was apparently powerful enough to ring in the season a little early this year. I can tell you one thing – no one at my table was complaining!
Even though I ordered one that night, my soft shell craving had only just begun, so when we sat down to plan our menu for the following weekend, I had one request and one request only! Soft shell crabs, baby! I sent Marc out to stock up on our weekend ingredients and that was at the top of the list. An important note when you buy them at the store – make sure you ask your fishmonger to clean them up before you take them home. That way they’ll be ready to go when you set out to cook them.
There are several ways to prepare soft shell crabs, but one of my favorite ways is to pan fry them. Sure, pan-frying them is definitely the messiest way to cook the, but once you try them you’ll realize why it’s worth it.
I’ve experimented with a few different crusts over the years, but I really like a full panko crust like the one in this recipe. It just lends itself to such a great texture and, for this recipe, it pairs so nicely with the silky avocado crema. The tart tomatoes are also a great compliment to the other incredible flavors of this dish.
This was one of those recipes that I’m proud to say Marc was superbly impressed by. He actually joked about licking the plate afterwards (something I usually do!), which was how I knew it was a real winner. You still have a few more weeks to enjoy these crabs at the height of the season, so don’t wait, add this to your week’s lineup!
