By Mary Parks | 30 minutes

Green crab roe is known as masinette in Venice where the crustacean is native. Venetian soft-shell green crab harvesters (known as moecante) often sell female crabs for roe in the soft-shell off-season. The rich and flavorful roe can be eaten right from the shell, seared with olive oil and fresh herbs, or used in a variety of seasonal dishes. In New England, green crab roe season comes twice a year: first in early summer and then again in late summer through early fall.

How to Shuck Green Crab Roe

Tutorial

The concept of shucked corn with accouterments is by no means an Italian invention (rather a mesoamerican one). Following colonization, variations of Italian corn salad (Insalata di mais) became popular across Italy, often including tomatoes, peppers, herbs, alliums, cured meats, seafood, or cheeses. While we were unable to find any recipes for a version with green crab roe, it’s safe to assume that at some point in history the two ingredients were combined in a dish. The creamy, fatty, orange roe pairs beautifully with the corn. We used sweet corn for this recipe but feel free to use field corn if that’s what’s available, just add a hint of sugar to the dressing.

MATERIALS & INGREDIENTS

  • 1 ½ cups corn (fresh or thawed)

  • ¼ cup green crab roe

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

  • ¼ cup water

  • juice of 1 lemon

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

  • 1 shallot, diced

  • 1 sprig fresh dill

  • 1 sprig fresh basil

  • 1 oz white wine

  • ~2 Tbsp olive oil (divided)

  • fresh cracked pepper to taste

  • salt to taste

  • sugar to taste

  • optional: crab shell

  • optional: Calabrian chilis in oil

DIRECTIONS

  1. Begin by heating apple cider vinegar, water, fresh pepper, and 1 tsp of salt and sugar in a saucepan. Pour over the diced shallots, mix, and set aside.

  2. In the same saucepan, heat half of the olive oil over medium heat and add roe, salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Toss the roe for a few seconds before adding white wine and then cook until the wine has fully reduced (1-2 minutes).

  3. Set the roe aside and let it cool for a few minutes.

  4. In a small bowl, add lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of shallot pickle juice, chilis, salt, pepper, olive oil, and sugar if you’re not using sweet corn.

  5. In a larger bowl, add shallots, dill, basil, roe, and corn together. Slowly add the mixture from the smaller bowl to your salad until dressed to your satisfaction.

  6. Taste your salad and add additional salt or sugar if desired.

  7. Serve cold in a bowl or the upper half of a green crab shell over crushed ice.

This recipe was developed as part of our Shuck at Home program.