Destination
Rio de Janeiro
The story
Casquinha de siri ("little crab shell") is the elegant petisco of the Bahian coast: fresh blue-swimmer or blue crab meat simmered gently with coconut milk, dendê, tomato, onion, coriander and lime, then packed back into the crab's own shell and finished under a hot grill until the top crackles with cheese and breadcrumbs. Served warm as a starter with a small glass of dry white and a wedge of lime.
Method
Warm the dendê in a wide pan over medium heat. Sweat the onion 4 to 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute.
Add the tomato and bell pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato breaks down and the mixture is thick.
Pour in the coconut milk and simmer 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Off the heat, gently fold in the crab meat, most of the coriander, the lime juice, salt and pepper. Don't stir too hard: you want visible pieces of crab in the finished dish.
Divide the mixture evenly between the crab shells or ramekins. Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium-high.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan and melted butter in a small bowl. Scatter over each filled shell.
Place the shells on a tray under the grill. Grill 4 to 5 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the filling is hot through and bubbling at the edges.
Scatter with remaining coriander. Serve immediately with lime wedges.
Tips
- Fresh crab meat, not tinned. This is the single most important ingredient. Buy from a fishmonger or a Portuguese/Spanish grocer that stocks fresh picked crab meat. Frozen picked meat is a good second.
- Don't overcook the crab. It goes into a warm pan of aromatics off the heat and only warms through in the oven under the grill. Long cooking makes it stringy.
- Dendê is what makes it Bahian. Olive oil gives you a fine baked crab but not the same depth. If you have dendê in the pantry from the moqueca / acarajé recipes, use it.
- Sterilise real crab shells before using. If you're using shells picked yourself, boil them 10 minutes and dry completely before filling. Ramekins are the safer home option.
- The topping needs to be light. Too much breadcrumb and cheese covers the crab. Aim for a thin, even scatter that browns evenly under the grill.
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