Hot devilled crab

Another set of simple little crab pies that work fine with pasteurized and even canned crab when good fresh crab or money is scarce. You will need ramekins or ovenproof pots of appropriate size. 4 starters or 2 main dishes.

• about ½ lb crabmeat
• scant ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 Tablespoon minced chives or scallion greens
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons malt vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• about ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 generous Tablespoons shredded sharp Cheddar or something similar

Preheat the oven to 425˚.

1. Gently fold the allspice, greens, salt and pepper into the crabmeat.

2. Whisk the vinegar and mustard together over medium high heat until the mixture boils, then fold it, too, into the crabmeat, taking pains not to break it up.

3. Spoon the crab mixture into ramekins and top each one with a layer of breadcrumbs followed by a layer of cheese.

4. Bake the devils until brown and bubbly: It will not take long.

Notes:

-Alternatively, you could pop these devils under a broiler, but we think they heat more evenly at the lower temperature.

-Some people, for some reason that probably has something to do with Elizabeth David’s propaganda, think that they dislike malt vinegar. If you are one of them, substitute something else, like white wine or sherry vinegar, or lemon juice… but the pies will not be as devilish.

-Good with toast.