Crab Imperial makes a great main dish casserole, especially if you serve it with a hearty, whole-grain or artisanal bread. Add a nice salad or some steamed veggies and you will have a complete meal.

If you are serving this as a hot appetizer or a snack, you can serve it with bread, pita chips, or sturdy crackers. Anything you could use to scoop it up would work for this purpose, even certain veggies, such as celery.

But no matter how you serve it, your guests will appreciate the creamy and deliciously crab-filled mixture. You are sure to get many compliments and recipe requests.

INGREDIENTS

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups heavy cream

1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shell pieces

1 cup panko bread crumbs

¹⁄₂ cup finely chopped red bell pepper

¹⁄₄ cup finely chopped yellow onion

¹⁄₄ cup finely chopped parsley

2 Tbsp. sherry

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1¹⁄₂ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

¹⁄₂ tsp. cayenne pepper

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toasted, sliced country bread, for serving

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 400° F. Heat 5 Tbsp. butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in cream, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in crabmeat, half the bread crumbs, bell pepper, onion, half the parsley, sherry, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, half the paprika, mustard, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Divide mixture evenly among 6 shallow 6-oz. ramekins; place ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix remaining butter, bread crumbs, and paprika until evenly combined; sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs evenly over each ramekin. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling in the center, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve hot with toast on the side.

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Quick Tip:  If you don’t have any sherry, you could use an equivalent amount of white wine or wine vinegar in this particular recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Todd Coleman for Saveur, image courtesy of yumyumpgh.com