Andaricas a la Plancha

Andaricas a la plancha are Asturian: small velvet crabs cooked whole on hot iron with nothing more than olive oil and coarse salt. In a coastal sidrería they arrive in a red, unruly heap, and the table goes quiet except for shells cracking. What makes the dish Asturian is the andarica itself, the dark-shelled crab of the Cantabrian coast, treated plainly enough that its own liquor becomes the sauce.

The method that decides it is simple. Dry every crab properly, make the plancha fierce, and put the carapace down first. The shell cups the sweet juices while the heat works through it; the underside needs only a short finish. Start with a wet crab or a timid pan and you get something pale and watery. That would be a pity after paying for good shellfish.

If andaricas don't reach your market, use small live hard-shell blue crabs of the same 100-140g size. Their flesh is a little sweeter and less deeply marine, but they take well to the same whole-crab method. Don't use soft-shell crabs, which cook and eat quite differently. No hace falta haber pisado España, you don't need to have set foot in Spain, but the crabs must be fresh.

The Margin beside this recipe says only, "sécalas una a una," dry them one by one. It sounds fussy until you taste the first crab. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh the salt and mind the clock. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.