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Chupe de centolla
Chupe de centolla: Punta Arenas king crab simmered with bread, milk and cheese
ChileanIn Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, at the bottom of Chile, centolla (southern king crab) is the pride of every restaurant, and chupe is how it is served on a cold Magallanes evening: a soft, spoonable stew of crab meat cooked with bread, milk and stock until creamy, then topped with cheese and browned for a minute. It is looser than a crab gratin and eaten with a spoon. Any good cooked crab meat works. The usual mistake is boiling it fiercely once the cheese and cream go in, which makes the chupe grainy; keep it at a gentle bubble. Chef's tip: add the crab right at the end, just to heat through, so the big pieces of king crab stay whole and sweet.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz day-old white breadcrusts removed, torn
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 1 oz butter
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 garlic clovecrushed
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ¼ cups fish stock
- ¾ cup single cream
- 1 ⅛ lb cooked king crab or other crab meatin large pieces, picked over for shell
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 ⅞ oz gouda or parmesangrated
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Soak 5 ½ oz day-old white bread in 1 ¼ cups milk until soft, then mash with a fork.
10 minStep 2: Melt 1 oz butter in a wide pan over a medium-low heat and cook 1 onion until soft. Add 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp sweet paprika and ¼ tsp ground cumin and stir for 1 minute.
9 minStep 3: Add the bread and milk and 1 ¼ cups fish stock and simmer, stirring, until thick and smooth like porridge.
8 minStep 4: Stir in ¾ cup single cream, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, then fold in 1 ⅛ lb cooked king crab or other crab meat and heat gently until steaming hot all through.
4 minStep 5: Heat the grill. Spoon the chupe into 4 ovenproof bowls, cover with 2 ⅞ oz gouda or parmesan and grill until golden in patches.
4 minStep 6: Serve straight away with bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chupe de centolla take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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