Crayfish with spicy sauce

In some countries they are a delicacy, as in Sweden. In that country they are boiled in water with sugar, herbs and beer, and then they are served with a kind of mayonnaise. Although availability always depends on the hydrographic network, the purity of the waters and the protection of the species in certain environments.

In many countries its fishing is prohibited and all that you will find in the shops will come from fish farms or will have been imported from the United States, the largest producer.

There is practically nothing that differentiates the crayfish from other marine crabs, although due to their shape they are more reminiscent of lobsters or lobsters. Also like these they change their green-brown color for another intense red when they are cooked and their meat is quite succulent. In fact, it is their intense red color that makes them very attractive to the eye. According to experts, their meat is less tasty than that of their marine cousins, but when well seasoned they are almost indistinguishable.

They are tasted just like prawns, that is, by separating the head from the tail, eating the meat that the latter contains, sucking on the former and, if you wish, breaking the tweezers to access the meat they contain.

Today I am going to give you a recipe where we cook the crabs as if they were Swedish but we make them a little spicy.

INGREDIENTS (4/6 people) :

• 2 Kg (4.4 lbs) of crayfish
• 6 large red ripe tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves
• 2 hot chillies
• Half a glass of cognac
• 1 beer (330 ml / 1 cup and a half)
• Chopped parsley
• Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

In a large pot, pour 4 liters of water (20 cups), a beer, a handful of salt and the bay leaves. When it starts to boil, we introduce the crabs and cover the pot so that they cook for about 5 minutes.

While the crabs are cooking, in a clay pot if possible, pour a generous stream of olive oil and fry the minced garlic, cloves and hot peppers. When the garlic is golden we add the tomatoes without skin or seeds and very chopped. Stir well and let cook until the tomato releases the water. Then add the half glass of cognac and let it reduce by half. By then the crabs will be done. We take them out of the pot, drain them and add them to the clay pot. Stir well, leaving a couple of minutes to soak up the flavor. Sprinkle plenty of black pepper and chopped parsley and ready to eat.

A simple and cheap meal that you have to en witjoyh a lot of bread to dip the sauce.