Eggplant Stew with Blue Crabs
A delicious stew or legume such as Eggplant Stew with Blue Crabs is best served with our favorite Black Beans and Rice recipe. This is perfect for dinner on Saturdays when you want to pass over a flavorful and healthy bowl of Bouillon.
What is legume
The word Legume in Haitian culture means a meatless stew of vegetables or a stew of vegetables with meat or seafood. Haitian people will make “legumes” with any leafy vegetables or root vegetables. Because taste is what matters, the right vegetable mixed with the proper cut of meat or seafood is a delicious meal to serve for lunch or dinner.
Bones with meat are also a huge part of “legumes.” It is known that bones are very flavorful therefore adding cuts of meat with bones is always a good idea.
Protein options for legumes or stews
Legumes or stews are made with meat or seafood. I decided to make Eggplant Stew with Blue Soft Crabs. The name of the recipe may sound very difficult to make, but it is not! The only challenge you may have is finding fresh blue soft crabs.
Using frozen crabs is okay, but they will not give you the true taste of seafood mixed with vegetables. Remember “fresh” is the key to wonderful and tasty dishes.
How to clean crab
I found this wonderful site on the web about cleaning crabs. This is exactly how I clean them with the exception of the ice water. I usually put the crabs in the freezer for about 1 hour and hope they are no longer alive by then. I also remove the tips of the legs. Check out the site. http://www.bluecrab.info/cbyc.html
How to make Eggplant Stew with Blue Crabs
The eggplant is cooked separately in water then mashed. It is then cooked again with spices, tomatoes, onions, and carrots. The crabs are cleaned, marinated with spices, and cooked in the eggplant mixture to finish the dish.
This is a staple food in the Haitian community that is served with rice or root vegetables such as yucca, plantains, manioc, or yams.
Enjoy!
Note: Eggplant Stew with Blue Crab can be served with rice or root vegetables such as yucca, plantains, manioc, or yams.
You may add seafood seasoning if you prefer.
Eggplant with Blue Crabs
Ingredients
- 8 medium Blue Crabs cleaned
- 2 tablespoons Sour Orange Juice
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Lime or Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Salt kosher or sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Garlic minced
- 1 small whole hot pepper habanero or scotch bonnet – seeds removed and sliced
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 4 medium Eggplants skin removed and cubed into 1 inch pieces
- 4 – 6 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 2 medium Onions sliced
- 2 cups Tomatoes diced
- 1 Bouquet Garni parsley and thyme
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 cup Water reserved from boiled eggplant
- 2 medium Green Bell Peppers diced
- 2 medium Red Bell Peppers diced
- 1 large Carrot sliced or diced
Instructions
- Clean the crabs. You may follow these instructions http://www.bluecrab.info/cbyc.html or use your own technics to clean the crabs. Also remove the tips of the legs. Rinse the crabs in water and vinegar or lemon juice with water. Add to a large bowl and marinate with lime juice, sour orange juice, black pepper, salt, garlic, and hot pepper.
- In a large pot over medium heat, bring water to a boil and add eggplant cubes. Cook until soft. Remove from water and mash with a masher or a fork. Reserve 1 – 2 cups of eggplant water.
- In a large pan, heat oil, add tomato paste and mix with oil. Add onions and fry for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and mix well with onions mixture. Add peppers, carrot and bouquet garni and cook for about 1 – 2 minutes. Add mashed eggplant and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add crabs, stir to mix and cook uncovered for 20 – 25 minutes stirring occasionally. Additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
You may add seafood seasoning if you prefer.
You may also add other types of seafood, but be careful with the texture.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
