April Fools: Blue Crab Buns with Clover (Once in a Blue Moon)
Digging my toes into cool sand and breathing in the floral herbaceousness of clover blossoms, I watch the full moon shimmer above the ocean, leaving a trail of sparkling reflections below that catch and hold my attention. It’s fitting that this is a “blue moon,” since the dancing reflections below reveal that aqua tone. The moon itself isn’t blue, though; a “blue moon” simply refers to the second full moon in a month’s time. There are only twelve months in our calendar year but the full moon comes to visit us thirteen times a year, meaning that the “extra” full moon appears in one special month each year and holds a great deal of significance for many.
You’ve likely heard the phrase “once in a blue moon” to describe something one doesn’t do or experience very often. The crabbers off the Pacific coast definitely have something that only comes “once in a blue moon”: brilliantly blue crabs.
Most of the crustacean catches off the coast are orange, red, purple, or tan. But every now and then you hear mysterious tales of one that is brilliantly blue, a rare gem that’s one in two million (so much more rare than the blue moon itself!) Their vibrant and unusual coloring is a genetic defect, but one that is endlessly inspiring. It is so rare to find truly blue tangible things in nature, it takes my breath away when I find something that is. A pop of sapphire amongst the teal anemones and purple urchins is certainly something that catches my attention! My friend Jamie is a wonderful nature photographer, and stumbling across her amazing picture of a little bright blue porcelain crab inspired me to dive in further.
I love that humans are so drawn to certain anomalies. We treasure albino creatures and look for lucky four leaf clovers. That’s why I also love serving something unexpected, and blue is often the ticket to that! How often do you see truly blue food? There are indigo blueberries, yes, and blue corn tortillas are at least a sort of purple-blue. But beyond that, there’s not much you can find in either woods or grocery stores that is a natural, edible blue. Serving up a piece of artwork like a beautiful blue crab can really leave an impression! This is a wonderful project for those that enjoy diving into meticulous and meditative recipes to create edible artwork (and don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand along the way!) Of course, you could also use this dough to make simple dinner rolls by just rolling them into smooth balls before baking. They will still be extraordinary!
I like to think that if mermaids ate pastry, this is what they would reach for for a lovely breakfast or tea time treat. Surely they have seen the ocean sapphires that inspired this creation! These rolls are soft and a little bit dense, like a soft pretzel. They maintain their soft texture in both body and legs, which are perfect for dipping into a wild berry curd. (And wiggle much like real crab legs, much to my aunt’s amusement!) The rolls are filled with the sweetness of red clover in both honey and flour form. They get an added floral flavor and deep blue color from butterfly pea flowers. When they are glazed and decorated they become extra special: treasures from the sea, perfect for a mermaid’s breakfast.
Clover and Butterfly Pea Magic: Here’s my secret for the deep blue tones you see in these buns: butterfly pea powder. This incredible plant in the pea family has been used to color foods and drinks blue in South East Asia for a long time, and only now is making waves here in the U.S.A. It has a subtle floral flavor and contains loads of anthocyanins, strong antioxidants that also happen to be pH sensitive. (Try adding a squeeze of lemon to butterfly pea flower tea and you’ll see what I mean!) I love the challenge of using only natural ingredients to create vibrant dishes, and these are no exception. In fact, there are even health benefits to be gained by stirring some butterfly pea powder into anything you want to turn blue! (Or pink, depending on how acidic it is!)
Dried red clover blossoms are another special ingredient. Trifolium pratense L. is actually a distant cousin of butterfly pea flowers, believe it or not! They’re not native to this continent, but have been naturalized in many parts of the country. I often find red clovers in areas that used to be old homesteads or even hiding amongst other blooming beauties in a wildflower meadow. The dried blossoms can powdered into a flavorful and healthy flour to add to baked goods. If you want to learn how to find and harvest your own, Practical Self-Reliance has a wonderful post all about it. The clover flour adds a pleasant sweetness to the rolls, a bit like the scent of sweet peas and hay. It also helps keep these rolls nice and soft! Like other members of the pea family, clover is high in protein and fiber as well and contains other nutritional benefits.
Red clover has many historical uses, many using it as a purifier to help the body rid itself of toxins or illness. It’s mildly calming and soothing and today is often used in herbal preparations for children to help calm and comfort them when they are ill or anxious. It also contains isoflavones, (which have a similar makeup to the hormone estrogen), which makes it a helpful herb for balancing hormones through menopause. It can disrupt the balance in your own body, though, so take with caution and talk to your doctor first if you take hormonal birth control, are pregnant, or have a hormone-sensitive disorder (like ovarian cancer or endometriosis.) If you do have a hormone imbalance, many naturopathic doctors use red clover to help address it, so talk to your doctor before using or taking it regularly! It can help ease painful symptoms during “moon time” in a gentle, softening way.
Clover has been used for thousands of years as food, medicine, and part of crop rotation. Like other legumes, it helps to fix nitrogen in the soil, making the field much more fertile for the next planting.
Cautions: If you have an allergy to peanuts or other legumes, avoid both red clover and butterfly pea flowers. It also helps to thin the blood, so it should not be taken by anyone with a blood clotting disorder or those on any kind of blood thinners.
Clover honey is the final special ingredient, delicious honey that is typically light in color and made by bees who primarily pollinate clover blossoms. Since its flavor is mild and delicate, it is a common choice for commercial honeys - another reason it makes a great crop for crop rotation. Look for a local clover or wildflower honey blend for this recipe.
Clover Blue Buns:
This recipe makes four large crabs, perfect to split between 8 people.
Ingredients:
1 ½ c. lukewarm milk or water (adjust as needed)
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. Active dry yeast
⅓ c. butterfly pea powder
⅔ c. clover flour
⅓ c. potato flour
2 tsp. Sea salt
4 Tbs. clover honey
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg white, for egg wash
Glaze ingredients:
2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. Butterfly pea powder
½ c. boiling water
¾ tsp. Blue spirulina (optional)
Piping bags with very small tips
Directions:
In the bowl of a large stand mixer, whisk together the lukewarm milk, ½ c. of the all-purpose flour, and the yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast is frothy.
Whisk together the remaining flour, butterfly pea powder, clover flour, potato flour, and sea salt in a large bowl. Add it to the mixing bowl along with the honey and butter. Beat everything with the paddle attachment until the mixture is even.
Continue beating or kneading the dough by hand until it is very smooth. (Add a little water, 1 Tbs. at a time, if the dough is too dry to work easily. ) The dough should be soft and a little shiny, with lots of elasticity.
Place the kneaded dough into a greased container and cover with plastic wrap or an airtight lid. Place in the fridge overnight so that the color can deepen and the yeast can slowly develop.
The next day, roll the dough out into a log on some parchment paper, then cut it into four equal pieces. Keep them covered in the fridge while you work on sculpting each individual crab. I recommend building the crabs right on the baking sheets you plan to use so you don’t have to move them. Make sure to use either parchment paper or a non-stick silicone mat.
Divide the dough into two equal portions, then divide one portion in half again. (You should have one large ball and two equal medium balls.) Roll the large ball into a smooth shape, then press it into and oval shape. Use straight palms or a bench cutter to press the sides diagonally to create a fan shape. The dough should be about 4” across at the widest point and 3” across vertically. It’ll be about ¾” thick. Press the edges down a bit to form a dome, then use your fingers to press little “dimples” into the back of the crab.
To form the front pincher arms, grab one of the medium balls of dough. Divide it in half and roll each half into a long crescent shape, about 1” wide at the widest point and 3-4” long. Divide into 3 sections using a butter knife or bench cutter but do not cut all the way through. You can snip one side of the impression to make a little spike. Roll the bottom ends longer and skinnier. Press a line vertically into the second segment. Cut the top segment into a claw shape and use small clean scissors to cut some texture into the edges of the claw. Dip the skinny end in some water and tuck it underneath the body of the crab near the top corner. Repeat with the other side.
Your remaining medium ball of dough will make the other six legs. Divide it into 3 sections, making the sizes slightly uneven. Roll the largest section out into a long log and divide it in half. Roll each piece into a tapered crescent about 4” long. Use your butter knife to cut shallow lines in 1” from the end, 1” further in. Dip the end in water and tuck it under the crap body. Arrange both sides so they are pointing slightly upwards.
Repeat the legs process with the other two sections to make two more sets of legs. Pinch a small piece of dough from one of the balls and set aside. Attach the remaining four legs. Divide the pinch of dough into two pieces and roll them in a bit of water. Stick
Cover the pan and let the dough rise until slightly puffy. This will take a little longer than dough that has risen on the counter as opposed to the fridge, but you still want to keep an eye on them! If they rise too much, you’ll lose all the wonderful detail you’ve sculpted. Plan for at least an hour, and up to two!
Once the dough is a little bit puffy, preheat the oven to 350F. Beat the egg white with 2 Tbs. water and brush over the top of the crabs. Then, use small, sharp scissors to cut little snips around the edge of the body to make the spiky texture found on real crab shells. Press into any lines that have become too poofy.
Bake for 16-22 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the bread springs back when you touch it. While it’s baking, pour the boiling water over 1 tsp. butterfly pea powder in the glaze and let steep. When the buns are done, allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet while you whisk up the glaze.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 c. powdered sugar, 5 tsp. Butterfly pea tea, and ¼ tsp. Blue spirulina. The mixture should be the thickness of heavy whipping cream. Use a clean, soft paintbrush to brush a layer of glaze onto the tops of the baked crabs. Once it’s dry, add one more coat. Once the buns have cooled and the icing has hardened, you can pipe on some textural bumps to define lines or add interest.
I used two colors in mine; one made with ½ c. powdered sugar, ½ Tbs. butterfly pea tea, ½ tsp. Butterfly pea powder, and ½ tsp. Spirulina. The other, lighter color was ½ c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. Butterfly pea tea, a squeeze of lemon juice, and just enough water to get it to a pipe-able consistency. Mix both frostings well so they don’t have any lumps, then transfer to piping bags fitted with very small round tips. Decorate your crabs as desired. Let icing harden slightly before serving at room temperature or briefly re-warming in a 350F oven.
Huckleberry and Blueberry Curd with Vanilla
Huckleberries are precious currency this time of year. Die-hard huckle lovers like me start to see their precious frozen berries dwindle as we wait impatiently for huckle season to come around again. One of the best things about huckles is that they have a very distinct and delicious flavor that infuses whatever it is added to. This curd will still have the enchanting flavor of huckleberries, but won’t require quite as many from your precious stash. ;) The strong berry flavors come through wonderfully in this silky, buttery curd.
Ingredients:
1 c. blueberries
1 c. huckleberries
2 Tbs. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 vanilla bean
4 eggs, beaten
Pinch salt
3 Tbs. butter, cut into small pieces
Directions:
Combine the berries, water, sugar, and vanilla bean in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil and the berries soften, 10-15 minutes.
Remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds and add them back to the mixture. Press the mixture through a fine sieve into a pourable container.
Rinse the saucepan and add the eggs to it. Whisk until smooth. Continue whisking as you slowly pour in the hot berry mixture in a slow drizzle. Once the berry mixture is mixed in with the eggs,return the pot to medium heat, while stirring constantly. Keep cooking until the mixture is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat.
Add the butter a little at a time to the curd, stirring until each chunk is melted in before adding more.
Pour into a sterilized jar and let cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge. The curd will thicken as it cools.
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Join me for a little winter night magic as we bake this cake full of rich seasonal flavors and black cocoa!