Crabs with fennel & tomato broth

Last weekend I was going through one of my Sunset Magazines and saw this super yummy picture of crabs with a tomato stew. My hubby took one look and agreed with me: we HAD to make it that night. We both love crabs and we've had it many times but never cooked them ourselves or bought them live.

We decided to get them from this asian fish market, they have a great selection of fresh crabs, lobsters and fish. We picked our 2 crabs and home we went. We pretty much just googled "how to cook live crabs" and found a super easy way to do it. Then I followed the recipe from the mag and added some delicious crusty bread. 

FOR THE CRABS

_We followed this directions on boiling live crab.

_We also follows this directions on how to remove the crab meat from the shell. It's messy and weird but go for it! We added the meat from the shells to the sauce, and kept the legs and claws on the side so we could crack them individually and dipped them in the sauce.

FOR THE FENNEL-TOMATO BROTH

Ingredients::

_ 3  celery stalks, trimmed and cut in half

_ 1/2  small white onion, quartered

_ 1  small fennel bulb, quartered (I only used half, not crazy about the licorice smell)

_ 1  tablespoon  olive oil
_ 1  cup  dry white wine

_ 1  can (14 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

_ 1/4  teaspoon  red chile flakes

_ 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt

_ 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

_ Handful flat-leaf parsley leaves

_ 2  cooked crabs (1 1/2 lbs. each)

Directions::

_ In a food processor, chop celery, onion, and fennel

_ Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, add vegetables, and cook until softened, stirring often, about 7 minutes 

_ Add wine, 1 cup water, tomatoes, chile flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook, covered, 8 to 10 minutes to let flavors develop 

_ Add the crab meat (from the shell) and cook, covered, stirring often, until warm and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl and top with parsley

NOTES::

_ We served this with a nice baguette that I warmed up in the oven, great for dipping in the sauce!

Overall it was SUPER easy and didn't take too long. If you like crabs I totally recommend you try this recipe!