Cornmeal Crusted Softshells w/ roasted red pepper remoulade
Ingredients:
8 softshell crabs
buttermilk (enough to pass crabs into)
2 cup cornmeal with
2 T cumin
2 T curry (to dredge)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons blended vegetable oil
Roasted Pepper Remoulade:
3 sweet red bell peppers
1 jalapeno
10-12 branches cilantro
½ of a lime’s juice
1 T Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
1 cup vegetable oil
salt and white pepper
Clean the live softshells and then soak them in the buttermilk for a few minutes. (The buttermilk gives a richer flavor and helps the cornmeal stick to the crabs and form a crust as opposed to a dusting.) Heat the oil in a large skillet (probably a maximum of 4 crabs will fit in each skillet). Pass the crabs into the seasoned cornmeal and pat the cornmeal onto the crabs to form the crust. Place the crabs shell side (top side) first into the hot oil. Work quickly to ensure that the crabs will brown evenly. Turn after nicely browned-- a few minutes at fairly high heat and then place in a 350 oven for another 3-4 minutes to finish.
Roasted Pepper Remoulade: Cut the peppers (to limit the spiciness, discard the jalapeno’s seeds, or eliminate it altogether) into a rough cut, sautee them until soft and then and allow to cool for a few minutes. Place in a food processor or blender and add the rest of the ingredients save the oil. Blend the ingredients for a bit and then add the oil in a slow steady stream. The resulting mayonnaise can be thinned, if desired, by adding a little sweet white wine and blending further.