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Harina con Cangrejo (Cornmeal with Crab)

Name: Harina con Cangrejo (Cornmeal with Crab)
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: cornmeal — 300 g; chicken stock — 1200 g; crab — 500 g; olive oil — 55 g; ham cooked — 100 g; onion — 150 g; green bell pepper — 150 g; garlic — 32 g; tomatoes — 400 g; dry white wine — 120 g; cumin — 5 g; dried leaf oregano — 1 g; achiote powder — 3 g; bay leaf — 1 g; salt — 10 g; freshly ground black pepper — 5 g

Harina con Cangrejo (Cornmeal with Crab) reads umami 7.7, salinity 5.4 and richness 5.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Cuban main, about 1 hr 15 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 8.8 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 3.2 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.3 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.5 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.7 · Salinity 5.4 · Richness 5.2 · Marine & Briny 4.3 · Allium 3.8 · Sourness 2.7 · Fruity 2.6 · Sweetness 2.3 · Citrus 2.3 · Earthy 2.2 · Funk & Ferment 1.9 · Warm Spice 1.8 · Herbaceous 1.5 · Floral 1.4 · Bitterness 1.3 · Nutty 1.0 · Smoke 1.0 · Heat 0.5

What's in it (16)

cornmeal — 300 g
chicken stock — 1200 g
crab — 500 g
olive oil — 55 g
ham cooked — 100 g
onion — 150 g
green bell pepper — 150 g
garlic — 32 g
tomatoes — 400 g
dry white wine — 120 g
cumin — 5 g
dried leaf oregano — 1 g
achiote powder — 3 g
bay leaf — 1 g
salt — 10 g
freshly ground black pepper — 5 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 15 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 86 kcal, 5.9 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 11 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Cuban cornmeal cooked in a sofrito with blue crab — a coastal home dish, thick enough to hold its shape on the plate, and eaten with the shells in so you work at it with your hands. Bijol is the Cuban ground annatto seasoning that gives the yellow; it is sold in small sachets at Latin groceries.
Render the diced ham in the olive oil over medium heat for 6 minutes until the edges catch colour.
Add the onion, green pepper and garlic and cook 8 minutes until completely soft and sweet. Take your time — an underdone sofrito is the commonest fault in this dish.
Add the crushed tomatoes, wine, cumin, oregano, bijol and bay leaves and cook down over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick and the oil has separated at the edges.
Add the cracked crab, cover, and simmer 12 minutes so the shells give up their flavour into the sauce.
Rain the cornmeal into the pot in a thin stream while whisking hard with the other hand, then pour in the stock, whisking for about 4 minutes. Lumps set permanently, so keep the whisk moving until it is smooth.
Drop the heat as low as it goes and cook 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom, until the harina is thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a channel. Add hot water if it stiffens too far before the time is up; raw cornmeal is unpleasant and the full time is not negotiable.
Season with the salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls with the crab pieces on top, lime wedges, and a lot of napkins.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Bacalao a la Vizcaína — Basque · Hegoalde (Spain)
Ropa Vieja — Cuban
Seafood Cioppino — Italian-American
Curanto en Olla (Pulmay) — Chilean
Tiella di Riso, Patate e Cozze — Italian · Puglia

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.