A New England Classic with a Pacific Northwest Twist
Recently, our good friends at Red Hills Market recently shared with us their house recipe for crab rolls. The delicious dish shows off Chef Jody Kopf’s daring flavor combinations. His addition of ingredients like hazelnut dust, Shiso leaves, and trout roe create layered flavors and textures in his spin on this classic New England dish, all neatly tucked into a humble potato roll. Certainly, executing this recipe will take a bit more effort in the kitchen, but it’s so worth it!
You can make substitutions (or omissions) to adapt the recipe to your liking. We are fortunate enough to have a local fishmonger in our community who has excellent, high quality wild-sourced lump crab meat that we substituted for Dungeness. It worked well and provided the flavor and succulence we were looking for. We used red leaf lettuce instead of Shiso leaves, which provided the right, bright texture for these delicious rolls. We encourage you to creative and have fun with this recipe.
For us, the real joy in this dish is pairing it with our favorite wines. For Jody’s crab rolls, we chose the 2020 vintage of our Three Hills Cuvée Chardonnay as it is particularly luscious and fruit forward. It melds beautifully with the delicate flavors of the crab and the citrus flavors provided by the charred lemons. Old Bay Seasoning and saffron notes play nicely with this wine as well. Served together on a warm summer day, the pairing is magical. Chef Jody also recommends an Oregon pinot noir rosé or bubbles.
ABOUT RED HILLS MARKET
A favorite Dundee restaurant for locals and tourists alike, Red Hills Market was Founded in 2011 by husband and wife team Jody and Michelle Kopf, Taking inspiration from the local bounty that surrounds the Willamette Valley, Red Hills Market serves up seasonal wine country fare. The wood fired oven turns out piping hot pizzas, sandwiches, and locals night specials. It’s a destination spot where guests can start the day off with espresso and pastries, or a hearty wood fired vegetable bowl, and the Market offers all the provisions and supplies one might need for an impromptu picnic. If you’re not touring the local vineyard’s, the Market’s rustic and inviting atmosphere encourages patrons to linger. Their house-made cookies are not to be missed.
Recipe
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE GARLIC CALABRIAN CHILI AIOLI
2 egg yolks
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 cups canola oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Calabrian chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE CRAB ROLLS
1 cup garlic and Calabrian chili aioli
2 pounds Oregon Dungeness crab lump meat, shell fragments removed
1 cup butter
pinch saffron
crab shells
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely cut chives
1 cup rough chopped hearts and leaves of celery
salt and pepper to taste
8 small soft potato rolls or 4 regular cut in half, quality hot dog rolls work as well
charred lemon wedges for garnish and aromatics
1/2 cup Shiso leaves or substitute red leaf lettuce leaves
small jar trout roe for garnish
1 tablespoon finely crushed, toasted hazelnut for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the crabs, then boil them for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they begin to float. Use tongs to remove them from the boiling water, then set them on a sheet tray to cool.
Once the crabs are cool enough to handle pick through the crabmeat carefully to remove shell fragments and place the crab meat in a mixing bowl on ice or in the refrigerator.
Place butter, saffron, and crab shells in a small saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes, allowing the butter mixture to cool in the saucepan.
While the butter is cooling, place the garlic in a food processor, and blend in the egg yolks. Drizzle the oil in slowly until the mixture emulsifies, then add the Dijon mustard, lemon juice and Calabrian chili flakes and pulse until smooth. Adjust the salt, if needed. You can also thin out the aioli with water if it is too thick. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Strain the melted butter from the saffron and crab shells.
Brush the butter mixture on the rolls and toast on a grill or broil until lightly browned. Set aside on a sheet pan for final assembly.
Add the lemon juice, chives, Old Bay Seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, aioli, and celery hearts to the crab and mix gently, leaving chunks of crab for texture. Adjust the crab mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Fill the rolls with the crab mixture and toast briefly under the broiler or on a grill with the lid closed—you just want to warm the roll slightly.
Garnish with charred lemons, shiso leaves and trout roe.
