Main Courses Recipes - Stuffed Crabs Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 cooked medium blue swimmer crabs

• 50g/2oz butter

• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

• 1/2 red pepper (finely chopped)

• 1/2 green pepper (finely chopped)

• 1 small onion (finely chopped)

• 1 celery stick (finely chopped)

• 1/2 red chili (finely chopped)

• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt

• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 175ml/6fl oz canned condensed seafood bisque

• 75g/3oz fresh breadcrumbs

Serves 6

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Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

2. Pull away the crab legs and claws, crack open and extract the meat from the legs. Reserve 2 front claws on each crab. Lift the flap on the underside of the crab and prise off the top shell.

3. Remove the soft organs and pull off the gills. Scrub the crab back shells and set aside. Shred the crab meat, picking out the shell fragments.

4. Melt the butter in a pan and add the chopped garlic, peppers, onion, celery and chili. Cook, stirring over a medium heat, for about 5 minutes.

5. Add the celery salt, thyme and bisque and cook for 3 minutes. Add the crab meat with half the breadcrumbs. Stir until combined and season to taste.

6. Spoon the mixture into the crab shells, smooth the tops and press the remaining crumbs over the surface.

7. Bake the crabs on a baking tray for about 15 minutes, or until heated through and golden, adding the extra claws close to the end of cooking to warm through.