« Recipes Home

The Miller's Wife Softshell Crabs

In French classical cuisine, food cooked a la meuniere, literally "in the style of the miller's wife", is lightly coated in flour, fried in butter and sprinkled with lemon juice.

• 8 primes softshell crabs
• salt and pepper
• lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons deli-style mustard
• all-purpose flour for dipping
• 5 tablespoons butter, divided
• 8 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• tartar sauce

Season crabs with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Brush underbellies with deli-style mustard. Dip both sides in flour.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan. Sauté crabs on both sides, about 2 minutes on each side. Sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon parsley.

In a small pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter and cook until a rich nutty brown. Pour 1 teaspoon butter over each crab. Serve with tartar sauce on the side.

Serves 4.