Recipe: Stuffed Crabs (Siri Recheado)

The Book of Latin American Cooking/Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz 1994

`INGREDIENTS:`
6 small, live hard-shelled crabs	olive oil	2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed	salt, freshly ground pepper	1 medium onion, grated
2 scallions, chopped, using white and green parts	2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped	2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1 or 2 fresh hot red peppers, seeded and chopped	1 cup fresh breadcrumbs	1 egg, beaten
fine bulgar wheat	lettuce leaves	small black and green olives

`1`	Plunge the crabs into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Lift out and cool. Carefully remove the meat from the shells and claws, and chop. Discard the spongy fiber. Scrub the empty shells, dry them, and brush the insides with a little olive oil. Season the crab meat with the lime or lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
`2`	Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet and saute the onion, scallions, and tomatoes until the mixture is soft and well blended. Cool to room temperature and combine it with the crab mixture. Add the coriander leaves, the hot peppers, and the breadcrumbs, and mix well. Stuff the crab shells with the mixture, brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with a little bulgar wheat. Bake in a preheated moderate (350 F.) oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Garnish serving plates with the lettuce leaves and olives. Serve as a first course.