The Lobster’s Crab

DEAR SOS: I am in search of my grandmother’s favorite dish. She lived in Santa Monica and dined at The Lobster in the early ‘60s. They served a crab au gratin, which she has described to me as delicious.

CASEY ANN COLEMAN

Via e-mail

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DEAR CASEY: You’re a good kid. The Lobster restaurant has a new life with chef Allyson Thurber, but crab au gratin is no longer on the menu. Here’s a recipe from a different Los Angeles restaurant, though, reported by Bert Greene, who wrote about San Francisco’s annual crab festival in 1986 for The Times. Green was a judge. “Crab au gratins come and go, but you will never taste a better version than the following handiwork of L.A. chef Raymond Marshall,” Greene wrote.

Crab Meat au Gratin

Active Work Time: 30 minutes

Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes

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1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided, half softened

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 1/4 cups creme fraiche

1 tablespoon flour

1 pound cooked crab meat

1/2 cup shredded Jack cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the green onions and cook 1 minute. Add the garlic, mushrooms and cilantro. Cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Stir in the pepper and creme fraiche.

Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with the flour in a small bowl until smooth. Stir it into the creme fraiche mixture and simmer over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir the crab meat into the saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the crab is heated through, about 8 minutes.

Heat the broiler. Transfer the crab mixture to a 1-quart casserole or 6 ramekins. Sprinkle the top with the Jack and Parmesan cheeses. Place 4 inches beneath the broiler to lightly brown, 2 to 3 minutes; watch them carefully. Serve immediately.

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6 servings. Each serving: 297 calories; 835 mg sodium; 88 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams protein; 0.41 gram fiber.