YIELD 8 SERVINGS
2 cup flour
1 cup parmesan, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp tabasco
1 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon, juiced
1 zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp olive oil, extra-virgin
1 cup oil, for frying
8 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
8 rolls, hard, halved
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 bn arugula, large stems removed
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the Parmesan, salt
and pepper. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and 1/4 cup
of water. Beat the eggs and water together and gradually incorporate
the flour mixture to form a smooth batter. Add 1/8 teaspoon of the
Tabasco and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. In another bowl,
combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, olive
oil and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco. Whisk to blend and set
aside for at least 30 minutes. (The recipe can be prepared to this
point up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate the batter and mayonnaise. If
the batter becomes very thick, thin it out with a little water.)
Preheat the oven to 250F. In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil
over moderately high heat to 350F. Dredge the crabs in the remaining
1 cup flour and shake off the excess. Dip 4 of the crabs in the
batter, let some of the batter drip off, and then fry them in the
skillet, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels, place on a heatproof platter and keep warm in
the oven. Repeat with the 4 remaining crabs. Scoop out some of the
bread from the center of the rolls to hollow them slightly. Spread 2
heaping teaspoons of the mayonnaise on each half. Assemble the
sandwiches by placing 2 or 3 slices of tomato and 4 or 5 arugula
leaves on the bottom half of each roll. Set the fried crabs on top
and close the sandwiches. Serve immediately. Serves 8. Recipe from
Food & Wine, June, 1991.
Submitted By WARING@IMA.INFOMAIL.COM (SAM WARING) On
4 JUN 1995 073117 ~0600
Servings: 8 servings
Parmesan-Crusted Soft-Shell Crab Sandwiches Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cheese; Crab; Fish; Sandwich; Seafood
The History of Recipes
Academics have traced the existence of recipes back into the distant past, at least as far back into history as ancient Egypt, and maybe further still. Having said that, mostly, these early recipes were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered, according to experts in ancient history is a series of tablets in the Sumerian language describing the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `blissful`. Progressing into The time of the romans 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a number of scripts describing recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he tells us how the roman meals were split into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. Additionally, he informs us how the ancient chefs were skilled in the use of a wide range of herbs and spices, including some that we all recognise like thyme, rue and asafoetida. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times there are some recipe books which appeared in the 14th Century ; a book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these books have no connection with the indian curry that appears on menues today, but instead descriptions of the types of food served to the upper classes of that period. In the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back many foods and herbs from the holy lands, including basil and coriander. The introduction of these new foods and spices caused an explosion in books on cookery, some of which are kept safe in academic collections. By the arrival of the twentieth century, recipe publications were in great demand, mostly as a result of better eduction, people having more leisure time and a general increase in wealth. |
We hope you enjoy this Parmesan Crusted Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches recipe.
