Serve this versatile dish for crab imperial in a baked pastry shell or over hot, cooked rice. To shorten the cooking time and eliminate the baking, continue heating the mixture in a saucepan after the crab has been added until it is thoroughly cooked. –The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons minced green pepper
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard (or less to taste)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or less to taste)
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 egg yolks
12 ounces crabmeat, fresh or frozen
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the green pepper and onion until tender. Slowly stir in the flour, mustard, salt, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and pepper. Add the milk and sherry and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil. Beat the egg yolks and add a small amount of the hot mixture to the eggs. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumps from forming. Fold in the crabmeat and pour the mixture into a greased 1-1/2-quart shallow casserole dish. Bake 25-30 minutes.
