Dungeness Crab was a delicacy appreciated by Native Americans long before the new settlers arrived and is an integral part of California cuisine today. Daniel O’Connell – Irish by birth – was a trailblazer in San Francisco’s beau monde, a brawler, poet and epicurean of tremendous energy who attracted a host of followers to his stylish Bohemian Club. This recipe of his for Golden Gate Crab Casserole is reproduced from Sumptuous Dining in Gaslight San Francisco by Frances de Talavera and John Parke Custis. If Dungeness crab is not available in your part of the world, then substitute your local crab variety. It will still taste divine.
Golden Gate Crab Casserole
Daniel O'Connell's Golden Gate Crab Casserole recipe is reproduced from Sumptuous Dining in Gaslight San Francisco by Frances de Talavera and John Parke Custis, the story of how the booming bawdy Bay City established itself as one of the finest eating places in the world.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Butter
- 2 tsp Flour
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tbsp Chopped frech chives
- ½ tsp Dried chervil
- 1 cup Finely sliced celery
- 2 tbsp Chopped pimento
- 1½ pounds of Dungeness crab meat, cubed
- 2 Hard boiled eggs, chopped
- ½ cup Slivered toasted almonds
- ½ cup Buttered breadcrumbs
- ½ cup Sharp Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a deep pan or skillet.
- Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the flour, then blend in thoroughly the milk, water, and chives.
- Return the pan to the heat and cook the mixture slowly, stirring constantly, until it is thick and smooth.
- Stir in the chervil, celery. pimento and crab meat.
- Add the chopped eggs to the crab mixture along with the toasted almonds.
- Pour this into a 1 ½ quart buttered casserole.
- Top the casserole with the bread crumbs and cheese and bake it for 25 minutes or until it is bubbling hot.
Your Dungeness crabs musr be bigger than the British ones. You couldn’t cube the meat from a bfitish one. Otherwise, an interesting recipe.
Oh sorry!! Never had a Dungeness crab myself but I got the recipe from an authentic Old time San Francisco recipe book – maybe they’ve also shrunk over the years!!!