Creamy Crab Dip with Crostini

A Delicious Way of Stretching Dungeness Crab Season

Dungeness crab season started late in California this year. The commercial season opened in January, after the holiday season, which is when many of us in CA traditionally make our big crab feasts. (The season was delayed to help ensure the safety of Humpback whales; the industry is trying out new kinds of traps that would enable the season to start during their migration without harming the recovering whale population.)

Because of the delay (and other factors), we haven’t really had a big crab feast in our house this winter, so I wanted to find some other ways to enjoy Dungeness season. My plan includes some crab risotto and other fun dinners, but I also wanted to find a good way to stretch the crabs’ lovely flavor out and make a relatively small amount of crab meat into a full meal. Enter: crab dip.

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This dip is loosely based on some of the ingredients for deviled crab, with soft, sweet onions and celery bulking up the crab meat, and also takes a bit of inspiration from pimento cheese spread, as I had both chopped pimentos and chili crisp (my preferred way of adding spice) left over from making pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches—that recipe is in my book. The creamy elements come from cream cheese and a bit of mayonnaise. The term “dip” is used kind of loosely here, because the long fibers of the crab meat naturally tangle together to make a very dense mixture. I like to spread this on toasted crostini, but it would also be great to scoop up with crackers and celery sticks.

While you can make this dish really quickly by buying picked crab meat, I prefer to crack and pick my own—it’s more cost effective, and you also get to use the shells for stock when you’re done.

To break down your crab (after you’ve steamed it):

• Pry the top of the shell off of the body; this is easiest if you insert a knife below the shell, but you can also just do it with your hands. The inside of the shell will have the yellow crab “mustard” in it which you can eat or discard.

• Pull off all the grey, spongy gills and discard them. Twist the crab legs off of the body.

• Pick all of the crab meat out of the body: There is meat enclosed in all the little compartments of cartilage; you can use scissors to cut these open and use a pick or a small fork to pull the meat out, or you can just break them with your fingers. (I usually use my fingers, to make sure I get all the meat, but I always risk getting a small cut or two.)

• Use a hammer or a nutcracker to crack the legs and claws open, then pull out all the meat.

• With each step, be very careful to remove all the bits of shell and cartilage; you won’t be able to see some of it, but your fingers will feel it.

Crab Dip with Crostini

Serves 2 as a meal or more as a snack

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ yellow onion, diced into relatively small pieces
1 celery rib, cut into pieces the same size as the onion
1 tablespoon chopped pimentos (optional)
1 scallion, which and light parts only, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
5 ounces picked crab
4 ounces cream cheese
4 teaspoons mayonnaise
Freshly ground pepper
Meyer lemon, to zest
Chili crisp (optional)
1 baguette, cut at a diagonal into thin slices

1. Melt the butter in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to turn soft and a tiny bit translucent; turn down the heat if the edges of the vegetables start to brown.

2. Add the pimentos and scallion, season everything with a pinch of salt, and cook over medium-low until the vegetables are very soft.

3. Turn off the heat and add the crab meat; I break it up with my fingers as it goes into the pan, which gives me one more opportunity to catch and remove any bits of shell. Mix the crab into the vegetables, then crumble the cream cheese into the pan and use a rubber spatula to mash everything together; the residual heat from the pan will bring out the crab’s aromas and help melt the cream cheese. Stir in the mayonnaise.

4. Season the mixture with another pinch of salt and some pepper and use a microplane to grate some lemon zest into the mix. (If you don’t have a Meyer lemon, start with very little as a regular lemon will add a different flavor.) Adjust all the seasonings to your taste, then, if you like a little heat in you food, stir in some chili crisp to add a toasty note. (If you have a mix of adults and kids in your house, like I do, you can add chili to just half.)

5. Transfer the crab mixture to two small oven-safe ramekins or one very small casserole dish. Toast the baguette pieces and set them aside, then toast the crab dip in a toaster oven or under the broiler until the top is bubbling and starting to brown nicely. Serve it with the crostini.

Photos: Georgia Freedman