Gluten Free Soft Shell Crabs with Balsamic Tomato Caper Sauce
I love soft shell crabs! They’re so different from most other seafood because you actually eat the whole crab…shell and all. Gluten Free Soft Shell Crabs with Balsamic Tomato Caper Sauce is one of my favorite soft shell crab preparations. The sauce is sublime, velvety, and pairs perfectly with the delicate crispiness of the crabs.
Jump to RecipeUncooked Soft Shell Crab
This is how uncooked soft shells crabs look when you buy them from your fish monger or the market. If you notice a lot of “yellow stuff” in the crabs, rinse it out and then pat dry with a paper towel.
Seasoned Gluten Free Flour for Dredging
Season the gluten free flour with salt and pepper and combine. Dredge each crab in the flour and shake off any excess.
Cooking the Soft Shell Crabs
Put olive oil in a large pan and heat on medium-high. Once heated, add the soft shell crabs upside down into the pan, as shown in above photo. Cook for 2-3 minutes until crabs are crisp and golden brown. Using tongs, turn the crabs and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer crabs to a platter or individual plates.
Balsamic Tomato Caper Sauce
Once crabs are cooked, it’s time to make the sauce. Add butter to the same pan and when the butter is almost melted (see above photo on the left), add the remaining ingredients; lemon juice, tomatoes, capers, balsamic vinegar, ginger and parsley into the pan. Stir all of ingredients together to incorporate. (See photo on the right.)
Gluten Free Soft Shell Crabs with Balsamic Tomato Caper Sauce
Spoon sauce over crabs and garnish with parsley, lemon and tomatoes if desired. Serve immediately.
Gluten Free Soft Shell Crabs with Balsamic Tomato Caper Sauce
Ingredients
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil more, if needed
- 4 soft-shell crabs cleaned and pat dry
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, for seasoning the flour and the sauce
- 1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour more if necessary (I use Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose or 1:1 Flours)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced and peeled or 3 cubes Trader Joe’s frozen ginger
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon drained capers roughly chopped or whole
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons tomato roughly chopped, any type – cherry, grape or plum tomatoes are easiest
- garnish with lemon and more parsley and tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Season flour with salt and pepper and combine with a fork.
- Dredge each crab in the flour and gently shake off any excess flour.
- Add crabs to the pan upside down and cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Using tongs, turn each crab and cook for additional 2 minutes. Remove crabs from the pan and place on a platter while making the sauce.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter to the pan. Once butter is almost melted add the lemon juice, ginger, vinegar, capers, parsley, and tomatoes. Stir to incorporate. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spoon sauce over the crabs.
- Garnish with lemon, parsley and tomatoes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe from the Philadelphia Inquirer (exact date and year is unknown, but it’s from awhile ago…maybe 10 or so years!). I’ve modified the recipe to lessen the butter content and to make it gluten free.
If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Clams with Tomato Broth and Gluten Free Spaghetti, Crispy Trout with Lemon and Capers, and Gluten Free Crab Cakes with Chili-Garlic Mayo.
GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER
The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.
I’ve made this soft shell recipe 3 times already and am making it again tonight. Wouldn’t change a thing. French style (lemon butter) used to be my favorite … I like this even better!
I’m with you! The sauce is so flavorful and when paired with the delicate crispness of the soft-shells…just fantastic!