Warren Leruth's New Orleans Style Crabmeat St. Francis

BecR's Note:

"This was one of the best dishes created by the late Chef Warren LeRuth at his spectacular (New Orleans) restaurant. He told me once that the thing he missed most about not having LeRuth's open anymore was that he couldn't grab one of these at moment's notice. Crabmeat St. Francis is also special in that it's one of the few regular menu items from LeRuth's for which the chef ever published the recipe. At that, it only came out a few years ago, in the little cookbook they do every year at the Chef's Charity for Children. (Another reason to go!) I find this recipe fascinating in that it uses ingredients and techniques generally left behind by latter-day gourmet chefs. Despite that, this is a dish that knows few peers." -- Tom Fitzmorris is a New Orleans food critic, radio host, and author. (Note: Time does not include overnight chill time, so plan ahead.)

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Sauce ingredients

• 1⁄8; cup margarine
• 2 green onions , sliced
• ½ medium onion , coarsely chopped
• 2 inner celery ribs , bottom 2 inches only, coarsely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon thyme leaves (dried)
• ¼ teaspoon celery seed
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon Accent seasoning (so, if you are anti-Accent, just omit it!)
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 3 tablespoons flour

Topping

• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon hot paprika

Plus

• 1 lb lump crabmeat
• ¼ cup margarine , melted

Directions:

1. Heat the margarine in a saucepan until it bubbles. Add all the sauce ingredients except the milk and flour, and sauté until the vegetables are well browned and sticking a little bit to the pan. Remove from heat and set aside for 15 minutes.
2. After 15 minutes, add the evaporated milk and 3/4 cup of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring lightly.
3. While the boil is coming up, whisk the flour into 3 oz. of water. After the pan comes to a boil, stir the flour-water mixture slowly into the other ingredients. Simmer for three minutes, until the sauce is thick.
4. Spoon the sauce into a pan and refrigerate overnight.
5. To complete the dish, preheat the oven to 425 F degrees. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and paprika together.
6. Put about 3 oz. crabmeat into a scallop shell or small au gratin dish. Top with 5 oz. of the chilled sauce, then sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture.
7. Bake at 425 F degrees until the crumbs brown and the sides of the dish begin to bubble--20-25 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and top each with 1 teaspoon melted margarine.
9. Serve very hot.