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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½cups milk
- 1pinch cayenne pepper
- ⅛teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- ¾cup heavy cream
- ¼cup dry sherry
- 1egg yolk
- 4tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 1pound fresh lump crab meat, shell and cartilage removed, if any
- 4tablespoons freshly grated Gruyere or Parmesan cheese
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
457 calories; 32 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 804 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the broiler to high.
- Step 2
Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and blend well. Do not brown. Add the milk and cook, stirring with a whisk, until blended and smooth. Season with cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Add the cream, bring to a boil and simmer briefly about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in half of the sherry, beat in the egg yolk well and remove from heat.
- Step 4
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook them briefly until wilted. Add the crab meat and cook briefly, stirring gently. Sprinkle with the remaining sherry.
- Step 5
Spoon the crab meat into a baking dish and smooth over with a spatula. Cover with the hot sauce and spoon it over with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with the cheese.
- Step 6
Place the dish under the broiler until golden brown and bubbling hot.
Private Notes
Comments
I thought this was way too bland. It's also quite rich - a vestige of another age of cooking. If I were to make it again I would double the nutmeg and add much more pepper. I might add some bread crumbs to the cheese to make a crunchier topping.
I added more pepper and cayenne, a little parsley and served this as an appetizer with crusty bread. It was a hit!
Based on all the comments, I modified this recipe using white wine in place of sherry and substituting a little bit of thyme for the nutmeg. Admittedly that’s changing the recipe a lot but it worked and moved it out of the 60s.
This is wonderful! We rarely have left-over crab, and crab meat picked by others is SO expensive. But half the sauce in this recipe worked perfectly with my 5 oz. crab, and fed two with crusty bread and very plain steamed spinach. It will go into the rotation!
Light and scrumptious