I guess it makes sense that I associate seafood with Winter, considering that it was Dungeness crab season growing up in San Francisco. Back in the day, fresh crab went for about 99 cents a pound, so we had cracked crab for dinner about once a week. It could be caught locally back then when the SF Bay was cleaner—not so much now.
This crab was named for the Dungeness Spit, which is an area of Washington (yes, a good reason to be in Washington State), and now it comes from just south of San Francisco and all the way up to the cooler waters of the Pacific Northwest, including the Puget Sound and up to Alaska.
Sadly, it’s not even close to 99 cents a pound, and it’s not less expensive for being a local food. But at least it’s still available, and we still have to have it as a treat at least once every Winter.
The crab can be purchased as whole and then you get to pick the meat off—a lot of work—or you can buy it fresh in a little plastic tub ready to use. I chose the latter.
My local market recently had something akin to these stuffed portobellos as a special, and I liked them so much I figured out how to make them for myself, adding my own flavorings. I didn’t want to over-flavor the filling because I wanted the crab’s flavor to shine, so I used small amounts of the seasonings. There’s no additional salt added either, simply because the Old Bay Seasoning has enough.
I’m a huge fan of horseradish in crab cakes, so I had to add a little bit, as well as some cayenne pepper, to give them some zing. I also added some chives and chopped parsley to freshen them up.
This recipe can be easily doubled for more diners, and it can also be made a day ahead as long as it’s tightly covered and kept refrigerated.
Because the oven is the perfect temperature and timing for roasting veggies, you can cook some at the same time on the lower rack—a great way to save energy! A salad also goes well with these, too.
Crab & Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 4 large portobello mushrooms
- 4 oz (½ block) cream cheese (you can use light if desired), room temperature
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- ½ cup unmarinated whole baby artichoke hearts, drained
- ½ small shallot, minced
- 8 oz. lump crab meat
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese + ~1 Tbsp more for the top of each
- ½ tsp cream horseradish
- 2 tsp fresh parsley + more for garnish
- 2 tsp fresh chives + more for garnish
- ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
- Lemon wedges for serving, if desired
Preheat oven to 425º F.
Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with foil and spraying it with cooking spray.
Pull the stem off of the mushrooms and scrape the gills off with a spoon. Rinse and set aside.
Blend the cream cheese, Old Bay Seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper with a hand or stand mixer. Add in the horseradish, parsley, chives, and thyme leaves, then beat in the egg.
At this point, I switch to a spoon to gently fold in the artichoke hearts and crab. Spoon the mixture into the prepared mushroom caps and sprinkle with a spoonful of Parmesan cheese. Top with a little bit of parsley and chives.
Bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.
