Saturday, June 23, 2018

Crabby Pizza

crabby pizza

I have about 30 tiny crabs ranging in less than an inch across the carapace and I have a husband who loves to eat pizza. I fried these live crabs without any seasoning for about 10 seconds and scooped them out with a tiny strainer. You can blanch them in hot water as well but I had the fryer out when I was frying up the soft-shell crabs. I would hate to try to chase after them as they are crawling away from my pizza!

I texted 2 Family Nurse Practitioner colleagues my crabby pizza photo. Sue responded, "It looks yucky". Kelly responded, "Hahah yummy !!" Although, I can hear her screaming with sarcasm all over her text. I also received a strong "yes" from my gastroenterologist friend Thao asking if she would eat this. I will withhold their last names to protect their privacy! 😁

My husband ate the pizza but tells me that after eating crabs for 2 days straight he would like to eat cheerios the next day! 

deep fried green crabs for about 10 seconds
sea asparagus or salicornia
this pizza (on pizza peel) is all ready to go into the hot oven
freshly baked crabby pizza on a pizza stone
crabby pizza

Crabby Pizza 

Ingredients:

1 Basic Pizza Dough recipe, home-made or store-bought (see recipe below or use your own recipe)
About 30 live crabs (less than 1-inch), fried or blanched for about 10 seconds
1 medium sized tomato, thinly sliced, dabbed with paper towel to remove excess liquid
About 10-12 sprigs of sea asparagus, washed and blanched for about 20 seconds in the microwave
Thinly slices of cheese (your choice)
Thinly slices of red onion

Method:

Make the dough (see recipe below). Fry the live crabs in oil for about 10 seconds. Scoop them out onto paper towels to remove excess oil. Preheat the oven to the highest possible temperature (around 500-550 F if possible) with a pizza stone (if you have one). Dust the surface of your working area (use a pizza peel if you have one) with plenty of flour before placing the dough down. Flatten the dough out as thinly as you can or prefer. Dab the tomato slices on a clean paper towel to remove excess liquid before scattering them on the pizza. This will help prevent the pizza from getting too soggy. Layer the cheese slices down and then arrange the crabs next. Arrange the crabs however you prefer. I arrange the smallest ones at the center and increase to larger ones to the peripheral. Next scatter with red onion slices and sea asparagus. Carefully slide the pizza onto the pre-heated pizza stone in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the pizza crust is golden. For the last minute add a few more slices of cheese and turn off heat. Remove the pizza and enjoy.

*This pizza may serve as a meal for 1 person or appetizers for 2.


resting pizza dough for about 30 minutes

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup "00" flour, plus extra for kneading
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

In a measuring glass add warm water, sugar and yeast. Stir and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Sift flour and salt and add the liquid, knead for about 5 minutes. Wrap loosely in plastic or cover and rest for about 30 minutes. Before using knead again for 2-3 minutes.

*Adjust the water if needed depending on the humidity level in your environment.

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