Baked crab 'poblano' with achiote
This dish comes from a great restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe. It was one of those occasions when I had no expectations of any great food until I tried this crab dish, scented with achiote and pasilla chilli. I should have asked for the recipe, but we had to leave for more filming so this is my interpretation.
Ingredients
- 1 pasilla chilli, seeds removed
- 100g/3½oz salted butter
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 20g/½oz achiote paste, softened (avaliable at specialist stores and online)
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 poblano chillies, deseeded and finely sliced (or alternatively 3–4 tbsp pickled jalapeño peppers)
- 3 large tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 250g/9oz fresh white crab meat
- small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 30g/1oz panko breadcrumbs
- 30g/1oz Parmesan (or alternaive vegetarian hard cheese), grated
Method
Pour boiling water into a small heat-resistant bowl and soak the pasilla chilli for 20 minutes. Drain the water and chop the chilli finely.
Preheat the grill to its highest setting.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the onions and garlic over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes, until softened.
Mix the achiote paste with the orange juice in a small bowl until smooth, then stir into the onions with the pasilla chilli, poblanos (or pickled jalapeños) and tomatoes. Cook for 4–5 minutes.
Stir in the crab meat and coriander until heated through. Season with salt. Divide the mixture equally between 6 ramekins.
Mix the panko breadcrumbs with the Parmesan and sprinkle over the ramekins. Grill for a few minutes until the tops are crisp and golden-brown. Serve immediately.
