Steamed Dungeness Crab with Tomatoes and Basil

Even though virtually all Dungeness crab—outside of Alaska or the Pacific Northwest—is already cooked, it’s okay to cook it lightly again. (If you can find raw crab, cook it the same way.) This dish puts a fresh spin on the Italian and Italian-American slow-cooked fish stew known as cioppino. Serve this with lots of sourdough bread for sopping up the sauce.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 white or red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt

Cayenne, to taste

1 cup dry white wine

6 cups chopped tomato (drained canned is fine)

2 to 4 Dungeness crabs, depending on their size, broken or hacked into large pieces

1 cup chopped or julienned fresh basil leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

• Put the oil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and cayenne, and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and turning golden, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and let half of it bubble off, a couple minutes more.
• Add the tomato and give the mixture a good stir, mashing the tomato down a bit. Put the crabs on top, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low, so the mixture bubbles steadily. Cook until the crabs are hot all the way through and the tomato is saucy, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid, stir in the basil and a good grinding of black pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve.

MAKES: 4 servings

TIME: 40 minutes