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Soft-Shell Crab Dinner Recipe with Lime Salsa Verde

This soft-shell crab dinner recipe is a quick and elegant meal, combining crisp, golden-fried crabs with a piquant lime salsa verde featuring capers, parsley, and garlic.
Perfect for a restaurant-quality meal at home, this dish highlights fresh seasonal flavors with minimal effort, ready in just 20 minutes.
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Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 4

Equipment

  • 12-inch skillet
  • Microplane or fine grater

Ingredients
  

Lime Salsa Verde:

  • 2 tablespoons capers divided
  • 2 cups fresh parsley leaves finely chopped
  • Finely grated zest of ½ lime
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt plus more as needed
  • 1 fat garlic clove grated or minced
  • Pinch of red chile flakes
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Fried Soft-Shell Crabs:

  • 8 soft-shell crabs patted dry with paper towels
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt to season
  • Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions
 

Prepare the Lime Salsa Verde:

  • Chop 1 tablespoon of the capers into small pieces, leaving the remaining capers whole.
  • In a bowl, combine the chopped capers, parsley, lime zest, lime juice, ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt, garlic, and a pinch of red chile flakes.
  • Drizzle in ¼ cup of olive oil and whisk until well blended. Set the salsa verde aside for later.

Cook the Soft-Shell Crabs:

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet (about 12 inches) over medium-high heat.
  • Lightly season 4 crabs with salt. Place them into the skillet along with half of the whole capers you set aside earlier.
  • Let the crabs cook without moving them until their undersides are golden and crispy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the crabs and cook the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes until fully crisp and cooked through.
  • Transfer the crabs to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Sprinkle them lightly with more salt. Repeat this step with the remaining crabs, olive oil, and whole capers.

Serve the Dish:

  • Arrange the crispy crabs on a serving platter and generously spoon the lime salsa verde over the top.
  • Serve with fresh lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over the crabs, and enjoy immediately.

Notes

  • Soft-shell crabs are best prepared fresh; ask your fishmonger to clean them for you.
  • Pair this dish with Pan-Fried Asparagus with Lemon or a light, citrusy salad for a complete meal.
Keyword dinner recipe, Elegant seafood meal, Fried crab with lime, Lime salsa verde recipe, quick seafood dinner, Soft-shell crab recipe
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