Roasted Crab with Celery
Prep
20 mins
Cook
25 mins
Servings
2
Difficulty
Medium
This is one of my favorite weeknight dinners because it comes together in under an hour and tastes like you spent all day cooking. Fresh crab roasted with celery is such a simple combination, but the celery's natural minerals and fiber make it a wonderfully nutritious companion to the sweet, tender crab meat. The garlic, white wine, and thyme create this amazing sauce that practically makes itself in the pan. Best of all, you need just basic pantry staples and quality ingredients to pull it off. Trust me, your guests will be impressed by how elegant this feels.
Ella x
Ingredients
- 2live crabs(about 1.5 lbs each)
- 4celery stalks(cut into 3-inch pieces)
- 4 tablespoonsunsalted butter
- 5garlic cloves(minced)
- 118 mldry white wine
- 118 mlchicken broth
- 3 sprigsfresh thyme
- 1 teaspoonsea salt
- ½ teaspoonblack pepper
- 1lemon(halved)
- 2 tablespoonsolive oil
- 2 tablespoonsfresh parsley(chopped)
Detail level
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Place crabs in the freezer for 15 minutes to humanely stun them before preparing.
Tip: This ensures the crabs are calm and minimizes stress during preparation.
- 2
Rinse the celery pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange them in a large roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Tip: Drying the celery helps it caramelize better in the oven.
- 3
Heat butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then pour over the celery in the pan.
- 4
Split each crab in half lengthwise using a sharp chef's knife. Place the crab halves cut-side up on top of and around the celery in the roasting pan.
Tip: Ask your fishmonger to do this step if you're uncomfortable handling raw crabs.
- 5
Pour white wine and chicken broth around the crab and celery. Tuck thyme sprigs throughout the pan and squeeze lemon juice over everything.
Tip: The liquid creates steam that cooks the crab gently and flavors the celery.
- 6
Roast in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until crab meat turns opaque white and celery is tender and golden at the edges.
Tip: The crab is done when the meat pulls away easily from the shell.
- 7
Remove from oven and let rest for 2 minutes. Sprinkle fresh parsley over the entire dish and serve immediately with the pan juices spooned over top.
Tip: Serve with crusty bread to soak up the delicious cooking liquid.
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