Dairy Free Saffron Crab Risotto

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It’s still overcast and misty at the coast and I just got out of bed for the 2nd time today.

The first time was at 6 AM, about a half hour before a negative low tide outside our friends beach house on the Oregon Coast. One half cup of coffee and a wrestling match with a wetsuit later, and we were off to go crabbing, with garden rakes and a reusable shopping bag in hand…(did I mention this is NOT a high tech operation?) It is woman against claw and I won three times this morning. Well, four actually…but one of my male crabs was actively mating with a female and my friend made me put them back, saying it seemed inappropriate to bother them while they were busy.

Admittedly, this was my first time crabbing, and I found it to be hunting & gathering at its best. In this neck of the world we get Dungeness Crabs. This weekend I learned that you have to get a crabbing license for this and that you can only keep the males, (and only after they have reached 5 ¾” inched in width). I also learned how to use a Dungeness Crab Gauge, and I now know the intricacies of the female and male anatomy of a Dungeness Crab.

To catch a Dungeness Crab, you wait until it’s a negative tide. During the extreme low tide, the ocean (sort of) uncovers its many tide pools, ranging from a foot deep to 6 feet or deeper, hence the wetsuit. The crab roll in on the previous tide and then get caught in the pools as the tide recedes. You need a keen eye to see their shells in the deeper water, and sometimes a single claw emerging above the sand is your only clue. Once you spot them, you gently catch a leg or two with your rake and lift it out of the water. If they get loose a chase can ensue, and hopefully they are running away, and not towards you. Once secure, you check to see if it’s a male and the right size, and if so, you throw it in your grocery bag. Repeat 3-4 times and you have your family supper.

I recommend boiling the crabs in a big canning pot, outside over a propane burner, especially if you cook them before cleaning them. The water can get pretty green and slimy and if it boils over you have a huge mess to clean up. (It seems there must be a plethora of uses for the left behind crab stock, but that is a post for a later day.)  You boil the crab for 14 minutes, clean, and serve.

Watch Mike Clean Crabs Like a Pro

Enjoy this recipe!

Please leave your comments below to let me know how it goes or how you tweak it to make it your own!

crab, risotto, dairy free

seafood, dinner

Author: Alexandra Pitts

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Dairy Free Saffron Crab Risotto

To me, meat as decadent as Dungeness Crab requires an equally decadent recipe and my favorite is Crab Risotto. Whenever I mention how easy this recipe is, I get side eye, as risotto has a historically intimidating reputation for being time consuming and difficult to get “just right”. I am of the camp that you don’t need it to be “just right”, you just need it to taste good.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup earth balance
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• large pinch of saffron
• ½ cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or other Italian white. Sauvignon Blanc also works)
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 cup of canned, unsweetened, coconut milk (I like to use only the thicker, creamier part for a richer risotto)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ cup juice)
• 2 tsp salt
• ¾-1 lb lump and claw crab meat (We use Dungeness.)
• 2-3 scallions, sliced to garnish
• red pepper flakes to taste and for garnish

Instructions

1. Add broth to a small sauce pan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer.
2. Heat a 4 quart sauté pan over med-low heat and add Earth Balance. Heat Earth Balance until its mostly melted and bubbly. Add diced onion, thinly sliced fennel, and fennel seeds to butter and sauté until soft but not browned, about 6-9 minutes. (I choose to cook them until very soft, about 9-10 minutes. I want this to be a kid friendly recipe. I find if my kids can identify the vegetable, they are less likely to eat it. If you prefer your veggies a little more firm, cook for only 5-6 minutes.)
3. Add Arborio rice and saffron to the sauté pan, and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. (I add a couple of large pinches of saffron. We love it!)
4. Pour wine over the rice and simmer, stirring, until mostly absorbed.
5. Add hot broth to the mixture, about a cup at a time. Simmer until broth is mostly absorbed. Follow with another cup of broth and simmer until broth is mostly absorbed, and so on for 14-16 minutes. Stir often to avoid the rice sticking to the pan.
6. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt to the rice mixture. Return to a simmer. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the risotto is a creamy consistency. Overall the rice should cook for about 20 minutes total.
7. Gently fold in most of the crab and cook for a minute to warm the crab. Set some crab aside to use as a garnish when serving.
8. Serve in wide, shallow bowls. Garnish with a little bit of the remaining crab and the scallions.

https://www.dirtylittleboxes.com/recipe-box/dairy-free-lemon-saffron-crab-risotto