Crab Flan Recipes

CRABMEAT AND SPINACH FLAN WITH SMOKED TOMATO BUERRE BLANC

Steps:

• In a stainless steel bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and mustard. Season with the celery salt, cayenne pepper, and salt, to taste. The egg mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pick through the crabmeat carefully to be sure that all the shell and cartilage are removed. Put 2 quarts of water on to boil. Brush 8 (5-ounce) timbale molds with clarified butter. Cut out 8 round disks of waxed paper and place 1 in the bottom of each mold. Brush the paper with butter. Divide the crabmeat among the 8 molds. Pour 2 tablespoons of the custard over the crabmeat in each mold. Carefully fill the molds with the Spinach Mousse. Place the filled molds in a 12 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Fill the dish halfway with boiling water and gently place on the lower rack of the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the mousse is firm to the touch. If the tops of the timbales begin to brown, cover with aluminum foil. Carefully remove the dish from the oven and let the timbales set a bit. The timbales can be kept in a warm water bath on top of the stove for several hours. Drizzle with Smoked Tomato Beurre Blanc before serving.
• In a 2-quart heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour, and stir with a wooden spoon for 3 to 4 minutes or until the flour turns a light golden brown. Remove from heat. In a 1-quart heavy bottomed saucepan, scald the milk and cream. Remove from the heat and add to the flour mixture, whisking to incorporate. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat. Blanch spinach in rapidly boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain, pressing out any excess liquid. Add to the thickened cream mixture. Puree the spinach sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the eggs and blend lightly to just incorporate. Season with nutmeg, white pepper, and salt. Use as directed above.
• For sauce, heat shallots and cider vinegar in a medium skillet. Reduce until almost no liquid remains. Add cream and pureed tomatoes, bring to a boil, and reduce by 1/2. Reduce heat slightly, and whisking constantly, add butter, piece by piece; the sauce should not be too hot while you are incorporating the butter. When all of the butter has been added, remove from heat and add chives, lemon juice, and salt, to taste. Keep warm until ready to use.

CRAB FLAN

Steps:

• Combine crabmeat, parsley, & chives.
• Heat butter in saucepan and cook crab mix for 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle in the rum.
• Pack into pastry case.
• Beat egg yolks with sauce, season with S& P.
• Pour over the filling.
• Bake in moderately hot oven (375°/gas mark 5) for 25 minutes.
• Sprinkle with nutmeg before serving.
• WHITE SAUCE:.
• Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour to a smooth paste, cook for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat & slowly add milk, stirring all the time.
• Bring to the boil, stirring continuously & boil for 2 minutes.
• Season to taste.
• Variations: the following may be added to the basic white sauce.
• 2 finely chopped hard boiled eggs.
• 3 oz grated cheese & 2 egg yolks.
• 1 Tblsp chopped chives, tarragon, parsley.

ASPARAGUS CRAB QUICHE

Steps:

• Place asparagus in a large saucepan with enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain well and pat dry. Arrange cooked asparagus over bottom of pastry. Top with crabmeat. Combine Swiss cheese and flour; sprinkle over crab. , In a small bowl, whisk eggs, cream, salt and hot pepper sauce. Pour into pastry. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Arrange fresh asparagus spears, spoke fashion, on top of quiche. , Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

CRAB RANGOON

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Combine garlic, cream cheese, crab, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce in a bowl. To prevent wonton skins from drying, prepare only 1 or 2 rangoon at a time. Place 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of each wonton skin. Moisten the edges with water and fold the wonton skin diagonally to form a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Moisten one of the bottom corners. Create a crown by pulling both bottom corners together and sealing. Arrange the rangoon on the baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

STEAMED CORN CUSTARDS WITH CRAB

Steps:

• Make custard:
• Cook corn in a 1-quart saucepan of boiling salted water until very tender, 3 to 5 minutes, and drain in a sieve.
• Purée milk and hot corn in a blender until almost smooth, then force through a very fine sieve into a bowl, discarding solids. Whisk in egg and salt and divide custard among ramekins.
• Steam custards in a steamer set 1 inch above simmering water, covered with lid, until centers are set and a thin knife inserted into center of 1 custard comes out clean, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove ramekins from steamer with tongs and cool custards slightly.
• Make crab topping while custards cool:
• Coarsely chop 1/4 cup crabmeat and reserve remainder for another use. Heat butter in a small heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook crab, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in chives.
• Serve custards topped with crab.

CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Heat the broiler to 500 degrees (or its highest setting). On your oven's highest rack, broil all the bread slices on a baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden and crisp but not burned. Flip all the slices over and broil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the broiler off and allow the bread to crisp in the oven until totally dry, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove the bread from the oven and let cool. Using a box grater or rolling pin, coarsely grate and crush the bread slices into bread crumbs (or, pulse them in a food processor). The crumbs should look and feel like sand; you should get about 4 cups. Set the bread crumbs aside.
• In a large cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the butter and onion into a large bowl. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and onion, then slowly whisk in the milk to make a creamy sauce. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, vinegar and mace.
• Add the crab meat to the cream sauce and mix lightly with a fork; don't break up the pieces of crab meat. Gently fold in just enough of the bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together (about 2 1/2 cups). Divide the crab mixture into 12 equal portions, setting them on a baking sheet as you go. They should be thick rounds - about the size of the palm of your hand, and roughly 1 1/2 inches thick.
• Using your hand, take a scoop of the toasted bread crumbs and coat each crab cake.
• Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over high. Once the oil is hot, place a few of the crab cakes in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Place the cooked crab cakes on a paper towel to drain. Working in batches, cook the remaining crab cakes, adding more oil as needed.
• Serve crab cakes immediately, or set aside in a warm oven (see Tip) while you cook the remaining crab cakes.