Side dish for soft shell crabs?

Question

I'm making soft shell crabs for dinner. This is the recipe I'm thinking of using:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_7908,00.html?rsrc=search

I'm looking for suggestions on a side dish. Or maybe these are a side dish and I should use something else as a main course? Also, if you have a favorite soft shell crab recipe, please post it or a link to it. THANKS!

Answer 1

This is a texture thing, also think Hush Puppies:
Apple Cole Slaw

INGREDIENTS
3 cups chopped cabbage
1 unpeeled red apple, cored and chopped
1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine cabbage, red apple, green apple, carrot, red bell pepper, and green onions. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour dressing over salad.
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SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRAB

Soaking the crabs in milk helps plump them up when cooked. Combining butter and oil results in crispy crabs.

1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
4 small soft-shell crabs, cleaned
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Rèmoulade Sauce, for serving


1. Place the milk in a shallow bowl large enough to hold the crabs in a single layer. Add the crabs and let them soak for 1 hour. Drain and discard the milk.
2. Season the flour with salt and pepper in a paper or plastic bag. Lightly dredge each crab in the flour.
3. Heat the oil and butter together in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and sautè the crabs in batches until golden, about 4 minutes per side. Add more oil and butter to the pan if necessary.
4. To serve, place a crab in the center of 4 salad plates and garnish each with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a small dollop of Rèmoulade Sauce.
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REMOULADE SAUCE

This is a great substitute for tartar sauce.

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons drained tiny capers, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 scallion (3 inches of green left on), very thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Set aside, covered, in the refrigerator.

Answer 2

Soft Shell Crab Dinner

Answer 3

Herb Crusted Softshell Crabs with Tomato Risotto

1 doz Louisiana whaler soft-shell crabs cleaned
(they are really big crabs)
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 cup Dijon mustard
2 cup finely-chopped fresh herbs, such as basil,
thyme, parsley, chervil, and tarragon
1 cup olive oil
1 x recipe Fresh Tomato Risotto (see recipe)
2 tbl snipped chives
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Season the soft-shell crabs with salt and pepper. Rub each soft-shell completely with about 1 tablespoon of the mustard. Crust each soft-shell with some of the herbs, coating each crab completely.
In 2 large oven-proof saute pans, over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of oil to each pan. When the oil is hot, carefully add 3 of the soft-shells to the hot pan, top-side down. Pan-fry for 2 minutes on each side. Remove and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.


Tomato Risotto

1 med Onion, chopped
1 tbl Olive oil
1 tsp Butter
Salt, to taste
6 cup Vegetable broth
2 cup Fresh tomato sauce OR 2 lb ripe tomatoes, 1 tb olive oil & 2-3 clove garlic,chpd
2 cup Arborio rice
3/4 cup Dry white wine
1 tbl Parsley, fresh, chopped
1 tbl Basil, fresh, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
In a large non-stick saute pan, saute the onion in the olive oil and butter, with a dash of salt, until it begins to turn golden. In separate skillets, heat the vegetable broth and the tomato sauce, and keep them both just below a simmer.

If you are starting with fresh tomatoes: Scald and peel them, and chop them or process them in a blender for a few seconds. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan, saute the chopped garlic in it for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cook them down for about 15 minutes.

Add the rice to the sauteed onion and stir it gently in the pan for about 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and stir as it is absorbed.

Add a soup ladle of the heated broth and stir, keeping the mixture just at a simmer. Keep stirring until the broth is nearly all absorbed into the rice, then add a ladle of tomato sauce and the chopped herbs, and stir until that is nearly absorbed. Continue this way, alternating broth and sauce until the sauce is used up, then carry on the with broth until the rice is al dente. This process will take about 25 minutes, and at the end a creamy sauce will form around the rice grains that are tender but firm.
At the moment the rice is no longer crunchy, stir in a last ladle of hot broth, and the grated Parmesan cheese, and serve the risotto at once.
Using a paper towel, wipe out the pan and heat the remaining oil. Repeat the above process with the remaining soft-shells. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Spoon the risotto in the center of each serving plate. Lay 2 of the soft-shells over the risotto. Garnish with chives.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Answer 4

Homemade coleslaw, grilled garlic herb corn on the cob & of course fresh baked garlic bread...Yummy!!

Answer 5

baked potatoes slaw