SHELL-ON CRAB AND CORN CHOWDER

 

We can't seem to have enough of crabs. While it's in season, we eat a lot of it. Today, I made a crab and corn chowder. I've left the meat in the shells. The shells makes the soup taste so rich, briny and really crabby (!). Also, this is supposed to be a quick and easy to cook dish. I don't want to slave all day picking the flesh off the crab shell. Flaked crab meat tends to fall apart when cooked leaving you just mush to chew on rather than the big tasty morsels that you coax off the shell.

This is not a thick chowder. It wouldn't be nice to try to pick meat from a crab that's covered in thick soup. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and corn, makes this a hearty one-dish meal. All you need is some crusty bread to dip in the soup. 

Ingredients:


2 crabs
2 tbsps. butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced in rounds
5 c. chicken stock
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tin of sweet corn (1 c.)
2 stalks of celery, sliced into thick diagonal pieces
1/4 each of sweet red and green pepper, cut into 1" x 1" squares
3 bunches of spring onions, cut diagonally
1 c. of evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsps. chopped parsley


Method:


Put the crabs in the fridge to put them to sleep. 

Boil plenty of water and immerse the crabs in. Parboil for 5 minutes. Take out of the water and rinse with cold water. 

Separate the claws and crack the shells with the back of a cleaver or a meat tenderizer. Take the shells out and cut in two. You may choose not to include this if you are not keen on the brown meat of the crab. Take the dead man's fingers off. Chop the body into quarters. Set aside. 

In a big pot, saute the garlic for 2 minutes until it starts to colour. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Add the carrots and the stock and simmer until the carrots are half done. Add the potatoes and sweetcorn. When the potatoes are half done, add the crabs, celery and peppers. Simmer until the potatoes are done. 

Lastly, add the milk, black pepper and the spring onions. Check the seasonings. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

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