Melted brie and fresh crab meat make this rich dish fit for special occasions.
- Dish Type: Main
- Serves: 4
- Preparation time: 20 mins
- Cooking time: 30 mins
- Difficulty: Difficult
- 1 large or 2 small crabs or crab meat, around 1 kg in weight overall or to choice
- 500g macaroni pasta
- 1 clove garlic, crushed with the blade of a chef knife
- 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
- 10-12 black peppercorns
- 1 litre of milk (use semi-skimmed or a mix with full cream milk)
- 125g of good-quality unsalted butter
- 5 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
- 500g grated Cheddar cheese, or a mix of 250g grated Cheddar, 125g grated Gruyere and 125g grated Berkswell cheese
- a little melted butter or olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 3-4 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Put the crab meat into a bowl and the empty crab shell on a baking tray.
- Cook and drain the pasta according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, fry the chopped onion with butter. Cook until soft and brown, then add the flour and stir vigorously.
- Then, add the milk and season with salt and parsley.
- Add the 2/3 of the cheese to the mixture; stir until melted.
- Add the cheese sauce to the cooked pasta, then the crab meat. Stir and mix.
- Place the pasta mixture onto the crab shells or baking dish. You can add some grated cheese or breadcrumbs for a crispy topping.
- Bake in the oven until the topping turns a lovely golden brown.