crabmeat

I told you yesterday that crab was on sale, and well maybe I over purchased, but something good did come out of it. I believe I am now “one” with the seafood aisle. However, being one with any aisle in the grocery store may be a dangerous or at the very least expensive, thing to be but if something is on sale and it looks good, I get it and see what I can do with the ingredient. Before I forget, there are some ideas that in the process that may become recipes soon, mojito marinaded pork (cannot decide on what cut to use at this point) and, I know it may seem excessive but another form of stuffed cabbage. The cabbage of choice this time will be savoy and the filling finely chopped chicken and other goodies.

You know funny thing happens to me when I hear someone say things about food and this recipe is no different. I was flipping through channels the other day and I heard someone on the television say the words “crab rice”. I did not pause on the channel or go back to find out why they were saying crab rice but it planted a seed. Now to most people those two words would not conjure up any type of response except perhaps maybe revulsion or a “why in the world would anyone do that?” question. I am different, as can be attested by most people who know me, because my mind went straight to, ” I wonder what I could put in it? and how do I preserve the delicate flavor of the crab?”. The result of some deep thinking about it is this recipe (yes, yes, I do deep thinking about food, okay?) . Interesting note, the crab rice was also excellent cold on tomato slices with a bit of balsamic vinegar as a dressing. Who knew?! Now without further delay here is the recipe.

Not so Shabby Crab Rice

Gary Bechard – The Well Fed Cyclist

Ingredients:

1 lb – Crab meat ( I used lump (it was on sale you know) but if your tastes extend to the less expensive use claw and back fin)
1/2 – Red bell pepper, diced small
1/2 – Green bell pepper, diced small
3 1/4 inch slices – Sweet onion, diced small
1 cup – Green onion greens, chopped (about ¼ inch pieces are good)
3 cloves – Garlic, diced fine
¾ cup – Diced mushrooms (I used a mixed mushroom blend that uses Cremini, Portabello and Shitake)
¾ cup – Parsley, fresh, chopped fine
1 cup (uncooked) – Wild and Basmati rice blend prepared according to the instructions (leave the rice on the firm side)
Note: I did not use instant or quick cooking rice for this recipe because it tends to get mushy
1 tsp – Lemon pepper
¾ tsp – Cayenne pepper
¾ tsp – Celery salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Construction Instruction:

Preparation –
Prepare the rice according to the package instructions using vegetable stock instead of water. You will want to make sure that the rice absorbs all of those nice flavors. Once this has been completed set this aside and begin to prepare the vegetables. Dice all vegetables before beginning because you will put them in the skillet according to their firmness. This will help you maintain the integrity of the vegetables. (And so they will actually look like vegetables when you are done.)

In a large skillet (mine is 12 inches across and 3 ½ inches deep), pour a couple of turns around the pan of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and bring up to temperature remembering to keep the heat at around medium or lower because olive oil has a pretty low smoke point and you do not want to burn the oil. Once the oil is at temperature, add garlic, red and green peppers and the sweet onion and sauté until onions start to become translucent and peppers begin to soften (about 3 to 5 minutes). Next, add the mushrooms and continue to sauté those until they begin to get soft (about 1 to 2 minutes) and last add the green onion greens. Turning down the heat push the vegetables to the side of the pan and place the crab meat in the center and slowly work the vegetable mixture in to the crab until mixed thoroughly then season with lemon pepper, cayenne pepper, chopped parsley and celery salt. Fold mixture until seasoning coats the mixture evenly. (about 4 to 5 minutes) Once you have the crab mixture complete, take a large bowl and place rice and crab mixture in and fold together until crab and vegetables are evenly distributed. Put the mixture in a 9 X 13 baking dish and place in a 275 degree oven for 30 minutes.

The crab rice was served with steamed fresh broccoli as a side. One of the most interesting things about this dish is that it is very good cold over slices of fresh tomato with a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!

The Well Fed Cyclist

You will never guess what was on sale this week! Go ahead, guess! Can’t guess? Well, okay, I will spill it, crab meat! I know that this may not excite everyone like it does me but it can only mean one thing (for me at least), stuffed fillet of sole or flounder! (You could use either because they are pretty much the same kind of fish, flat with thin filets) This is an older recipe of mine that has seen some modification over the years. I most recently did a makeover of this recipe for the “On the Edge” series and nobody is the worse for wear. Gone is the whole cup and a half of regular breadcrumbs. These were replaced with a much smaller amount of whole wheat breadcrumbs which have a bigger flavor and texture. Also, less olive oil is used in this recipe to cut down on the fat and there is less salt. Overall, this is a much healthier version of the same recipe but the flavor is still there. As a friend of my daughter’s put it, “it was like a party in my mouth!” I would normally serve this with a wild rice pilaf and green and wax beans but instead served this with a tabouli salad (cracked wheat) which had tomatoes, some onion and dressed with the juice of a lime. So without further adieu here is the recipe.

I’m Stuffed
Baked crab meat stuffed fillet of sole (or flounder)
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
The Stuffing –
16 oz – Pasteurized claw crab meat
1/3 – Red bell pepper (diced fine)
1/3 – Green bell pepper (diced fine)
3 thin slices – Sweet onion (diced fine)
4 cloves – Garlic (fine minced)
¼ cup – Fresh parsley (a small handful) (diced fine)
¼ cup – Whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp – Coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp – Kosher salt
2 splashes – Red wine vinegar
¼ cup (or less) – Extra virgin olive oil

The “Stuffee” –
1 lb – Sole or flounder fillets (you will need 4 fillets) (note: look for long fillets)

Construction Instruction (stuffing) –
Combine, crab meat, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley pepper and salt in a large bowl. Mix this together thoroughly making sure to break up the crab meat and combine the ingredients so they are evenly distributed through the mixture. Next take and add about half of the olive oil in the mixture and test. That is right, test. You have to do a “squish” test to see if the mixture will hold together. If the mixture holds together after you squish a ball together, it is ready but if not add enough oil until it does. (I would only add about half of what you had left and test again and repeat as necessary)

Construction Instruction (fish) –
Take the fillets and cut them lengthwise down the center into strips that are about 1 ½ to 2 inches wide. In a 9 X 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with PAM cooking spray, take a large spoon and with your hands create 4 equal mounds of the stuffing. Next, take the fillets and with the even edge on the bottom of the dish wrap around the base of each mound. Repeat this in the opposite direction with the other half of the fillet. (Note: the fillets will have a wide end and a thin end and the object will be to have the same amount of fish around the outside of the stuffing. This can be accomplished by matching the thin end of one fillet with the wide end of the other fillet.). Repeat this step for each mound of stuffing. What you should end up with are 4 mounds of stuffing where you can see the top of the mound and a circle of fish around the bottom. Make sure to put about 1/4 cup of water in the bottom of the baking dish. Bake this in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. You will know that it is done when the fish has gone from translucent to white or very, very light golden brown.

Enjoy!
The Well Fed Cyclist

thewellfedcyclist

Ain’t so shabby and possibly a bit crabby…

The things you find…(an “On the Edge” recipe)