Soft Shell Crabs

Soft shell crabs take me back to summers as a child when we would vacation at my aunt's rustic house (complete with outhouse) on the Rappahannock River just before it emptied into the Chesapeake Bay. I used to walk the tidal marshes with a dip net looking for crabs. And it was a bonus when I'd find a doubler (two crabs mating) because not only was it two crabs for the effort of catching one, the sook underneath the jimmy would be a soft shell.

Invariably for at least one meal during the time we were there, we'd have soft shells, dredged in flour and fried. They were as delicious then as these are now.

Here you see our dinner of a soft shell along with some mâche and a pesto orzo salad, a delicious and summery Tuesday night repast. These are the first soft shells of the season. I hope there are many more to come this summer!