« Recipes Home

Softshell Crabs, Pecan Monteleone

This recipe wwas a double winner in the third annual crab cooking olympics in San Francisco, CA.

Credited to Chef Joseph Green, San Francisco, CA.

• 4 prime softshell crabs, cut in quarters
• seasoned flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• ½ cup absinthe liqueur
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• ½ cup cream
• salt and pepper
• 16 tomato slices
• 16 toasted bread rounds
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• dash cayenne pepper

Rinse crabs and dry with paper towel. Cut each crab into four parts. Toss crabs very lightly in seasoned flour.

Melt butter in heavy skillet. When hot, put in crabs, shell side down. Reduce heat and sauté crabs until brown. Turn crabs and brown on other side. When brown all over, remove to a hot platter and keep warm.

Add onion and parsley to the butter remaining in the skillet. Add absinthe and simmer for 5 minutes. Have ready the yolks beaten together with the cream. Add this to the absinthe broth, being careful not to let the broth boil after the egg mixture has been added. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place tomato slices on toasted bread, top with a piece of softshell crab, spoon over absinthe sauce and sprinkle with chopped pecans and cayenne pepper.

Yields 16 hors d'oeuvres or 4 main course meals.