Mexican cuisine · Fish & Seafood

Jaiba Rellena

Crab meat braised with tomato, olives and capers, packed into crab shells and baked until crisp on top.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 400 g crab meat
• 8 cleaned crab shells (or small ramekins)
• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 1 white onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 80 g green olives
• 2 tbsp capers
• 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp dried oregano
• 60 g panko breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 limes
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Carefully pick over the crab meat and remove any bits of shell, finely chop the onion and garlic, and peel, seed and dice the tomatoes.
2. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion with the garlic over medium heat for 5 min., until translucent, without letting them take on color.
3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and oregano and reduce uncovered for 10–12 min., until the sauce is thick and the oil separates at the edge.
4. Stir in the roughly chopped olives and the capers, fold in the crab meat gently, let it warm through for 2 min., and season with salt, pepper and the juice of half a lime; remove the bay leaves.
5. Fill the mixture into the crab shells, sprinkle with panko and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
6. Bake in the oven preheated to 200 °C for 12–15 min., until the top is golden brown and crisp, and serve hot with lime wedges.