Oven-Roasted Dungeness Crab with Fennel and Orange
This dish is inspired by the Provençal ingredients of fennel, orange, and fresh seafood. For the fullest flavor, rub the marinade into all the cracks and crevices of the crab shell. You’ll want to have bibs, nutcrackers, and crab forks on hand to enjoy this meal in all of its messy goodness. Serve with a light green salad and plenty of fresh, crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk together the garlic, 6 tablespoons of the olive oil, the mustard, and orange zest. Toss in 10 of the thyme sprigs. Place the crabs in a shallow baking dish and smear the garlic mixture all over them, working it into the cracks in the shell. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Step 3
Heat a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the shallot and sauté for 1 minute. Add the fennel and the rest of the thyme and sauté for 1 minute. Pour in the wine and orange juice and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, decrease the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the carrot and potatoes and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Step 4
Add the crab and all of the marinade to the pan and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce and season as needed. Cover the pan and put it in the oven for 5 minutes. Baste the crab with the sauce and roast for 5 minutes more. Take the pan out of the oven and carefully pour the sauce through a large strainer into a bowl. Cover the crab to keep it warm.
Step 5
Pour the sauce into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the sauce, stirring often, for 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter. To serve, divide the crab and vegetables among the plates. Pour the sauce over the crab and season with pepper. Garnish with orange supremes and a lemon quarter.
sustainable seafood choice: dungeness crab
Step 6
A winter treat to look forward to, Dungeness crab is a sustainable seafood choice because Dungeness fisheries are so well run: Only male crabs at least 6 1/4 inches long are caught and sold, allowing them 1 to 2 years to mate as adults; traps let undersized crabs escape, and females are returned to the water; and fishing gear made from biodegradable webs prevents “ghost fishing,” when traps abandoned underwater trap animals indefinitely. Over the last fifty years these fishing practices have helped to preserve a thriving Dungeness population.
