Hot Grill, Cold Soup, and Soft Shell Crabs
 |
| Things are growing, summer is here! |
This turn in weather has had me cooking on the grill with some frequency but also experimenting with some refreshing dinners like cold soup and quick cooking pasta dishes. I was lucky to get some beautiful little soft shell crabs, as I love to do in May, and had them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I adore them! They seem intimidating but they cook quickly and are easy to clean, it's just a couple quick steps (one of those steps involves cutting their faces off, but it's not difficult, step up). I recorded a how-to video which shows you how simple it is.
The recipes I'm sharing this month include a take on Mark Bittman's pasta with soft shell crabs (I'm obsessed with this dish), a Parsley Vichyssoise (can be served hot or cold, I vote cold), and Grilled Shrimp 'Boil' (A non-boiled shrimp boil? Yes, I live by my own rules.) I hope you enjoy them!
Parsley Vichyssoise
Makes 12 cups
Ingredients
1 quart peeled, diced potatoes
1 cup diced leek or onion
¼ cup butter
1-¼ cups water
2 cups parsley sprigs that have had stems removed
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Prep
1. Combine potatoes, leek, butter and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.
2. Meanwhile, put parsley and chicken stock in blender and blend until very smooth. Blend potato mixture with some of the milk until smooth.
3. Combine parsley and potato mixture in soup pot with any remaining milk, the salt, cream, cayenne, pepper, and worcestershire. Season with additional salt to taste. Heat to serving temperature, or chill and serve very cold.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
1 lb baby potatoes
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, divided
1 stick butter
1 garlic clove, cut in half
2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce, such as Crystal
Olive oil for cooking
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, or your favorite fresh sausage
2 ears corn, shucked and cut into thirds
6 - 16/20 shrimp, shell on, on wooden skewers for easier grilling
Lemon wedges for garnish
Prep
1. Boil potatoes in water that has been well salted and has 1 teaspoon of Old Bay in it. Cook until tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan heat butter until melted, add garlic halves, Old Bay seasoning, and hot sauce. Let simmer on low heat for about 1 minute.
3. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Arrange sausage, corn, potatoes, and shrimp on a platter and drizzle everything with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill in batches, basting everything with the flavored butter. Start with the corn and sausage which will take about 8 minutes to cook. Then add the potatoes and finally the shrimp. The potatoes are already cooked so you’re just looking to get some grill flavor and marks on them. The potatoes will take about 5 minutes, the shrimp will take about 3 minutes.
4. Remove everything from the grill and drizzle with remaining butter and serve with lemon wedges.
1. Boil potatoes in water that has been well salted and has 1 teaspoon of Old Bay in it. Cook until tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan heat butter until melted, add garlic halves, Old Bay seasoning, and hot sauce. Let simmer on low heat for about 1 minute.
3. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Arrange sausage, corn, potatoes, and shrimp on a platter and drizzle everything with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill in batches, basting everything with the flavored butter. Start with the corn and sausage which will take about 8 minutes to cook. Then add the potatoes and finally the shrimp. The potatoes are already cooked so you’re just looking to get some grill flavor and marks on them. The potatoes will take about 5 minutes, the shrimp will take about 3 minutes.
4. Remove everything from the grill and drizzle with remaining butter and serve with lemon wedges.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or a little more
3 cloves garlic, sliced
8 oz fresh ramps, white root ends and green leafy tops separated
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, or to taste
4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned (at fishmarket, if you like)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound long pasta, like spaghetti or linguine
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Prep
1. In a very deep skillet or broad saucepan, warm oil, garlic, chopped root end of ramps, and chile flakes over medium-low heat; do not let garlic brown. When garlic and ramps are soft, at least 5 minutes, add crabs . Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
2. Let the crabs cook until they are cooked through, they will turn pink/red and become opaque, about 12 minutes, turning once halfway through. When crabs are almost done, begin cooking pasta. When crabs are done, use tongs to remove them and hold them while cutting up with scissors. Return to pan. Add ramp leaves.
3. Drain pasta when it is barely tender, a little short of how you'd want to eat it, reserving some cooking water. Add pasta to crabs and toss together over medium heat with pan juices and black pepper, adding some cooking water and a little more oil if necessary. (The amount of each will depend on how much more cooking the pasta needs, and how much liquid the crabs exuded.) Add parsley, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. When pasta is perfectly cooked, serve.
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment