Tempura Fried Soft-Shell Crab With Purple Potato and Chorizo Hash, Salsa Verve, Pickled Green Tomato Relish, Chipotle Mayo, Purple Potato and Crab Purée
Recipe courtesy of Daniel Montano, CEC, Executive Chef, Berkshire Country Club (Reading, Pa.)
Ingredients
- Ingredients for the Crab
- crab - 1 ea., cleaned and trimmed
- tempura batter - 1 pint, prepared
- Ingredients for the Hash
- chorizo - 3 oz., crumbled, cooked
- purple potato - 4 oz., peeled, medium dice, par cooked
- hominy - 2 oz.
- cumin - 2 pinches
- lime juice - to taste
- roasted garlic oil
- cilantro - to taste, chopped
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- Ingredients for the Purple Potato Puree
- purple potato trimmings
- crab stock
- clam juice
- heavy cream - boiled
- sherry vinegar
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- Tajin
- Ingredients for the Salsa Verde
- tomatillos - 10, washed, trimmed
- jalapeño - 1 ea.
- cilantro - 1/2 cup
- yellow onion - 1/2 ea.
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- Ingredients for the Relish
- red peppers - 1 ea., small dice
- yellow peppers - 1 ea., small dice
- green tomatoes - 1 ea., small dice
- apple cider vinegar - 1 cup
- sugar - 1/2 cup
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- Ingredients for the Garnish
- watermelon radish - sliced and quartered
- frisee - washed
- roasted garlic oil
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- Ingredients for the Chipotle Mayo
- mayo - 1 cup
- lime - 1 ea.
- chipotle pepper - 1 Tbsp., can
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
Instructions
Procedure for the Fried Soft-Shell Crab
- Tempura batter and fry soft-shell crab until golden brown.
Procedure for the Hash
- In a pan, sauté potato, chorizo and hominy with roasted garlic oil.
- Finish the hash with fresh lime juice, salt and pepper, and chopped cilantro.
Procedure for the Purple Potato Purée
- Cook purple potato scraps in a pot with equal parts clam juice and crab stock.
- Bring heavy cream to a boil. Strain potatoes and reserve stock.
- Add potatoes to a blender, and slowly add stock and heavy cream until purée is thick. (Chef's note: You want the texture to be thick when chilled.)
- Slowly add sherry vinegar until the purée turns into a lavender or lilac color and to desired acidity level.
Procedure for the Salsa Verde
- Add tomatillos, yellow onion and jalapeño to a pot.
- Cover with water and bring to a boil then turn down to a light simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside for 15 minutes. (Chef's note: If you boil the tomatillos for too long, they will burst.)
- Strain and add the boiled ingredients to a blender with fresh cilantro and desired amount of jalapeño. Puree and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Procedure for the Relish
- Combine all relish ingredients and cryo-vac. Allow to rest an hour before use.
Procedure for the Chipotle Mayo
- In a robot coupe, combine mayo, chipotle, lime juice, and salt and pepper until smooth. Transfer into a squeeze bottle.
Assembly
- Grab an entrée plate and ladle 2 oz. of salsa verde on the plate and smear.
- Add cooked hash on top of salsa verde.
- Split tempura fried crab in half and place on top of hash.
- Garnish fried crab with relish, roasted garlic oil, lime juice, and frisee and watermelon radish.
- With a chef’s spoon, scoop a generous amount of purple potato purée and place on plate and garnish potato purée with Tajin.
- Garnish plate with chipotle mayo as desired.
