Crabs : Delicious Stuffed with Tomatoes, Basil and Hazelnuts

This is a challenging recipe suggestion from Pascal Naessens' (about one hour to prepare) but if you love crab … so worthwhile! If you are up for the challenge read on ... 

World-class crabs stuffed with tomatoes, basil and hazelnuts. Such a unique mix of flavours, and those delicious toasted hazelnuts really bring all the different elements together. Wow!

Maybe you have a special celebration coming up, this recipe suggestion could fit the bill!

Ingredients:

Serves Two

11 carbs per serving

2 Dungeness crabs or canned crab meat
5 oz. (150g) shrimp, cooked and peeled
1¼ cups (300ml) fresh basil
2 scallions (spring onions)
2 tomatoes
¾ cup (175ml) hazelnuts, toasted
¼ cup (60ml) hazelnut oil
sea salt

pepper, to taste

Pascales' Tip:

In addition to the white crabmeat, females contain roe, also known as red coral. Not everyone is wild about the roe, but it is actually delicious, if a bit rich. You can add this to the crab mixture, or you could serve it on the side by mixing it with mayonnaise to create a dressing. 

You will never get enough meat from a crab to completely fill the shell; therefore, I add shrimp. This way, you won't have to worry about not having a generously filled crab. 

Removing crabmeat is a lot of work. After a meal, I clean the crab shells so I can re-use them. Then, for a quick meal, I make the filling with canned crabmeat or fresh lump crabmeat and the entire dish is ready in 15 minutes.

Full recipe instructions:

Can be found here

Crabs:

Did you know "there are more than 4000 species crab, a crustacean notable for its sideways walk, claws and armoured shell. Crab claws yield sweet, dense white meat similar to lobster meat, while the flesh from under the hard upper shell is soft, rich and brown. Crab liver is considered a delicacy. Male crabs tend to have larger claws and more white meat. However, the females sometimes contain coral - a flavoursome red roe. The main types of crab available are:

European Brown crab - popular all over Europe, this crab is available all year round. It reaches 20-25cm/8-10in across and has heavy front claws with almost-black pincers, a rusty-red or brown shell, and red hairy legs mottled with white.

Atlantic Blue crab - this crab has a blue-brown shell and can grow to 20cm/8in, but is usually sold smaller. When newly 'moulted' (crabs regularly shed their hard shells), the crabs are caught with soft-shells and deep-fried for eating whole. The Blue crab is popular along the Eastern seaboard of the United States.

Dungeness crab - this can reach up to 20cm/8in and has plenty of delicious white, dense sweet meat. The meat in the shell, notably different for its pale greyish-green colour, also has a great flavour. It is popular along the Pacific seaboard of the United States

Spider crabs - popular in France and Spain, this sweet-flavoured crab has no large claws and, indeed, resembles a big spider."

Details taken from here

You will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, but please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan