JTONE CRAB CLAWS
with Mustard Sauce and Vegetable Chowchow
Stone crab might be called the gourmet's ultimate convenience food, for it is almost always marketed precooked. To enjoy stone crab meat you need only a tool to break through the shell. Stone crab is sweet and has a pleasant texture, and simple condiments such as lemon, butter, or a mustard sauce need be used but sparingly. For this recipe we include a vegetable accompaniment-for color, of course-but the pickled, tart flavor of these vegetables also offers a tasty counterpoint to the rich crab flavor. The vegetables are best made one day in advance.
John Mariani notes in his book The Dictionary of American Food and Drink that the term chowchow "may be from the Chinese Mandarin 'cha' meaning mixed, and dates from the 1840s when Chinese laborers worked on the railroads of the American West"
Makes 4 appetizer portions
V2 cup mayonnaise V/2 cups cider vinegar
cup creole mustard V2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sugar V* teaspoon cayenne pepper
Tabasco sauce to taste 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 teaspoons coarse salt
Vs yellow pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 star anise
6 baby carrots, peeled 1 bay leaf
6 baby golden or baby red beets, peeled 16 3- to 5-ounce stone crab claws, precooked
and cut in half lengthwise and chilled
10 haricorts verts Lemon wedges, for garnish
Щ red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, and Tabasco. Mix thoroughly, and chill.
2. Blanch the peppers, carrots, beets, and haricots verts in a saucepan of lightly salted water until just tender. Do this in batches, according to type of vegetable. Allow the larger, thicker vegetables to cook a bit longer, about 4 or 5 minutes for beets, 1 or 2 minutes or less for carrots and green beans, and 1 minute for peppers.
(recipe continues)
3. Drain the vegetables and plunge into ice water. (Keep the beets separate so their color doesn't run on other vegetables.) Drain again and put all the vegetables except beets in a bowl. Add red onion. Put beets in another bowl.
4. Make vinaigrette: In a small saucepan combine cider vinegar, sugar, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, star anise, and bay leaf and simmer over medium heat until reduced by a third. Cool slightly and then pour over the vegetables. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
5. When you are ready to serve, put a thick towel on your work table and crack the crab shells open slightly. The guests can finish the task. (You do not want to smash the shells too hard, or you will destroy the presentation. A firm rap with a small hammer or the back of a large knife works well.)
6. Put a dollop of the mustard sauce on each plate. Scoop up a portion of vegetable chowchow with a slotted spoon and mound attractively near the sauce. Spoon a small amount of the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Arrange the stone crabs on the plates and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve.
This is a traditional tapas dish and should, according to Spanish custom, be served at room temperature although you can serve it warm, if you prefer. This tortilla is much like a flat omelet and quite similar to a fiittata, so the components may vary according to your taste.
The recipe calls for my sweet potato gratin, which is cooked, cooled, cut into thin slices, and placed in the cooking egg mixture in such a way as to offer a dramatic presentation. You can substitute cooked potatoes of another sort, if you wish. The dish is very simple to prepare if you made the sweet potato gratin for dinner the night before and have a fair portion left over.
Makes 4 small portions
У2 recipe Sweet Potato Gratin (page 193) Ч2 cup heavy cream, beaten into eggs
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste
1 Spanish onion, peeled and diced large Ч4 pound cooked chorizo sausage, cut into
2 tablespoons butter small dice 6 whole eggs, beaten lightly