Addictive Crab and Roasted Red Pepper dip
The season of summer parties is upon us, but we don’t want to spend forever in the kitchen, even if we have air conditioning. But, I don’t know about you, I do get tired of just grilled or barbecued recipes. However, neither do I want to go to quick packet mix or take out, particularly when they are far too frequently not safe for us.
This is a mix of various dips based on what I fancied and what I had. I had ½ lb decent crab meat (Philips brand) left in freezer and freshly roasted red peppers in the freezer. Once you have tasted freshly roasted red peppers (even if from frozen) it is very difficult to go back to jars.
I do find a difference between using my own freshly roasted red pepper and bought jarred roasted red pepper. My own peppers tend to be softer and sweeter, jarred are quite crisp, definitely not sweet, but not sour except for some of the acid used in the jar to preserve peppers. But I can also add some balsamic or lemon juice to fresh roasted peppers. It is all down to individual taste. Add even more fresh herbs. Both types of peppers are still good. And buying a bag of red peppers for roasting is far cheaper than buying one pepper, and once roasted they can be frozen flat or stored in fridge for about 2 weeks. It was devoured by four of us before dinner over Christmas. Also put it on fish and bake. Make a layer of tortilla chips on large tray, put dollops of mix on top, bake/nuke in microwave, then top with chopped tomatoes and lettuce.
4 stalks of green onion, rinsed and trimmed, finely scissored and white and green of onion kept separate.
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature – lite is fine
zest of half a lemon
½ lb decent crab not imitation crab as it is not gluten free
2 large roasted red peppers (peeled and deseeded) –either cut into small pieces or pureed with the cream cheese.
Fresh pepper
¼ c parmesan – not the cardboard containers please
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Green of green onions.
2 tbsp gf chipotle ranch dressing or a gf Italian or gf blue dressing - optional. I find these an easy way of adding flavor to a recipe without much work. They’re even good added to mashed potatoes instead of butter.
Topping: optional but makes it look fancier
½ c corn chex crushed or gf bread crumbs. I crush corn chex in Ziploc bag then add rest of ingredients to bag and blend through the plastic.
¼ c chopped almonds
1 tbsp parmesan
1 tbsp olive oil
1. Put white of green onions, garlic and olive oil in 4 cup microwave safe bowl or jug and microwave until soft. 1-2 minutes.
2.Add cream cheese, lemon zest, crab, red pepper, pepper, parmesan and herbs together. I normally don’t add salt, up to you. Add dressing now as well if you want. Spread mix in equivalent of a 9” oven proof pie plate, pretty enough for serving.
2. Mix crushed corn chex, almonds, parmesan and olive oil together. Sprinkle on top of crab mix.
3. Bake in 350 * oven for 20-30 minutes. Time depends on depth of mix in plate and whether refrigerated before baking. Without topping you can just zap mix in microwave, stir and serve. Or in mini slow cooker on low for about 1 hour.
Variations:Add artichokes, sundried tomatoes, spicy peppers, shrimp instead of crab, cilantro, lemon thyme – your choice. We ate it with Tostitos corn tortilla rounds, labeled gluten free.
