Sauteed Soft Shell Crab

While I am not usually big into fried food,  when it comes to soft shell crabs, I say "Yes, please".
I usually serve them over a salad or with a side salad and limit myself to one or two so it's not too unhealthy.

These are surprisingly easy to make! I will be making them again tonight! Soaking the crabs in milk helps plump them up when cooked. Combining butter and oil results in crispy crabs.

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 1/2 cups low-fat milk

• 4 small soft-shell crabs, washed and well dried on paper towels
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat with great results)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Ponzu sauce for dipping

Directions:

1. Wash and pat dry the crabs with paper towels. Make sure they are well dried because you want them to soak up the milk, not water.

2. 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.

3. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dump it  into a large ziploc bag. Lightly dredge each crab in the flour.

4. 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 if using. I serve this with a sized of ponzu sauce, usually over a green salad. The salad in the picture is mixed greens with roasted asparagus, roasted potatoes (left over from the night before), fire roasted corn (from Trader Joe's)and market fresh radishes. 

Adapted from http://www.epicurious.com