King Crab with Lemon Grass-Ginger Butter and Roasted Potatoes

Notes: Jack Amon, chef at the Marx Bros. Café in Anchorage, serves Alaska king crab with a simple butter sauce and hearty potatoes. If you buy the crab legs thawed, you can have the fishmonger crack them for you, or use a nutcracker or wood mallet to crack the shell along each section of crab legs. Cracked Dungeness crab is also delicious brushed with the lemon grass-ginger butter, then broiled (step 4).

Yield: Makes 5 or 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3/4  pounds  red thin-skinned potatoes (each 2 to 2 1/2 in. wide)
• Lemon grass-ginger butter (see notes)
• 2  tablespoons  grated parmesan cheese
• 2  tablespoons  minced shallot or onion
• 1  tablespoon  minced parsley
• 1  teaspoon  minced garlic
• 5  pounds  thawed frozen cooked Alaska king crab legs, cracked (see notes)
• 1  tablespoon  minced fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil

Preparation

1. Scrub potatoes; cut each in half across widest dimension and brush cut sides with lemon grass-ginger butter, about 1 tablespoon total. Set potatoes cut side up in a shallow 3-quart casserole (about 9 by 13 in.).

2. Bake in a 400° regular or convection oven for 20 minutes. Turn potatoes cut side down and bake until well browned and tender when pierced, 20 to 30 minutes longer.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix parmesan cheese, shallot, parsley, and garlic. When potatoes are done, sprinkle mixture evenly over them. Cover and keep warm.

4. Arrange crab legs in a single layer in an 11- by 17-inch pan. Brush with lemon grass-ginger butter, using about 2 tablespoons total. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until meat is hot in center of thickest part of leg (cut where cracked to test), 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Transfer crab legs to a platter, arrange potatoes around them, and sprinkle with the minced fresh basil. Serve with the remaining lemon grass-ginger butter to add to taste.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

381 (23% from fat)

Protein:

46g

Fat:

9.6g (sat 4)

Carbohydrate:

25g

Fiber:

2.3g

Sodium:

687mg

Cholesterol:

228mg

Chef Jack Amon, Anchorage, Alaska, Chef Jack Amon, Anchorage, Alaska, Sunset, JANUARY 2001