Crabmeat Imperial

Crabmeat Imperial

Crabmeat Imperial is an old local favorite that has fallen on hard times. It's as good as ever--about the only way one could dislike it would be to dislike crabmeat--but few restaurants serve it. I like the very simple way it's prepared at the Bon Ton Cafe, the city's oldest Cajun restaurant. The crabby flavor fairly explodes in your mouth. This is my variation on their recipe.

• 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
• 6 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions--bulbs and tops
• 1/4 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• Pinch cayenne

1. Sauté onions and mushrooms in half the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, until onions have become limp but not brown.

2. Add crabmeat, pimiento, and sherry and turn heat up a bit. Cook while agitating pan (don't stir), until the sherry is boiled away.

3. Melt the remaining butter into the mixture, and pile onto rounds of toasted French bread in ovenproof dishes. Run the plates under the broiler, about five inches from the heat, until the crabmeat sizzles. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves two to four.