King Crab Cake
Warm king crab is tossed with seasonings and Parmesan cheese and stuffed back into its shell, to be dished out at the table. This dish emphasizes the flavor of this rich seafood and makes the most of the king crab, but it could also be made with other types of crab or shrimp and served in ramekins, individual large sea shells, or other unusual dishes.
Ingredients
- King crab - 1, boiled and cooled, or 2 pounds fresh cooked crab meat
- Olive Oil - onion,
- Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
- Cloves Garlic - 2
- Paprika - 1 tablespoon
- Fresh Oregano - 1 tablespoon
- Fresh bread cubes - 1 cup, no crust
- Milk - 1 cup
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Fish stock or clam juice - 1/2 cup
- Parmesan cheese - 1 cup, freshly grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Parsley - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Rock Salt - 1 cup
- Mixed salad greens - 1-1/2 cups
Instructions
To prepare the crab: Remove the legs from the crab body and open the shell. Working with your fingers and a small pick or fork, locate and lift out the meat in each section. Discard the remaining tissue. Using a heavy sharp knife, split the crab legs and lift out the leg meat sections. Clean out the shell to create a bowl for the finished dish. Reserve 6 leg sections for garnish. Check the meat to remove all pieces of shell. Roughly chop the crab meat.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the paprika and oregano and continue cooking until the onions caramelize and the mixture turns golden, 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the crab. Put back on the heat and begin to heat through, stirring occasionally. Place the bread cubes in the milk and let soak for 2 minutes. Add the butter and fish stock or clam juice to the crab mixture and stir to blend. Lift out the soaked cubes with your hands or a slotted spoon and stir into the crab mixture; discard the soaking milk. Add one half of the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley. Let the mixture cook a little, but do not let it become too dry.
Pour the rock salt into a baking pan and anchor the cleaned crab shell in the salt. Fill the shell with the crab mixture. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and arrange the reserved crab legs on top. Bake 5 minutes, until heated through.
To serve: Arrange salad greens on a large serving plate or platter. Put a little rock salt on the plate to hold the crab. Place the filled crab shell on the rock salt. At the table, serve each diner a sampling of greens and top with the crab mixture spooned from the shell.
