Crab Farcie Dip

Superbowl 47 is February 3, which means the annual festival of chips and dips is nigh upon us. This Crab Farcie Dip recipe, which will appear in the expanded hardcover edition of our Yankee’s Lost & Vintage Recipes cookbook this June, is my idea of a perfect dip: creamy and warm, with a crunchy breadcrumb topping and lemon juice for zing.

Classic crabe farci is a French appetizer in which the shells are stuffed with a mix of crab meat,  breadcrumbs, butter, and seasonings (in French, the word farci means “stuffed.”) Like New England’s own baked stuffed lobster, crab farcie has many variations—the dish also appears in Cajun, Caribbean, and Vietnamese cooking—but in this version, it becomes an easy, delicious dip to serve with crackers or thin slices of French bread.  Crab Farcie Dip Recipe Total time: 45 minutes; hands-on time: 15 minutes Yield: 8 servings Ingredients for Crab Farcie Dip

• Salted butter (for baking dish)
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup dry plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 can (6 ounces) crab meat, drained and shredded
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced shallot or onion
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley or thyme leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Lightly butter a small baking dish (3- to 4-cup capacity) and set aside. 2. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, bread crumbs, and salt. Set aside about half of this mixture for the topping. Combine the rest with the crab meat, cream, lemon juice, shallot, and pepper. 3. Spoon into the baking dish, top with the reserved bread crumbs, and bake until golden and bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with herbs if desired.