COOKINGWITHCAMPICHE
The boys in the boat
and a crab feast
Crab bechamel with corn and buckwheat crepes
BY DAVID CAMPICHE
The storm kicked up just as the crab
fishermen launched their ocean boats and
began to drop their 200 pound pots.
If you’ve never stood atop a swaying
deck in 20-foot seas as the wind slaps your
raw face and chafes your hands — then
you haven’t experienced the Pacific Ocean
in December. And you are lucky for that,
this happens to be one of the most danger-
ous professions in the world. I, for one, am
grateful every time I that am served this
exceptional seafood, particularly from a
safe port of call.
The Dungeness crab is a winter delight,
or perhaps a highlight. The lean sweet meat
is as pleasing as any protein in the world. I
love to crow on this seafood: its taste and
texture. With three in the sink, I begin the
slow process of extracting meat from shell.
I don’t find the process unpleasant, any-
more than I mind cleaning a razor clam. I
simply enjoy the meal all the more for my
efforts.
My wife, Laurie suggested crab becha-
mel with corn and buckwheat crepes. How
could I not comply? Especially since she
offered to make the crepes!
Crab Béchamel with Corn and
Buckwheat Crepes
Sauce ingredients
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• flour
• 1 and 1/2 cup of milk
• 3 tablespoons cream
• 1/2 cup of hard white cheese (Gruyere
is one of the best)
Directions
Simply melt two tablespoons of but-
ter in a sauce pan. When melted, add flour
and stir until the mix is incorporated and
cooked, but without excessive browning.
Slowly add a cup and a half of milk and a
few tablespoons of cream. Incorporate the
ingredients and continue to stir for a couple
of minutes. This takes away the pasty taste
of the flour. I often use half virgin olive
10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
oil with half the butter. When the sauce is
smooth, add a one-half cup of hard white
cheese. Thin with a bit of water if the sauce
becomes too thick.
Known as a mother sauce, béchamel can
be modified by simply adding cheese, pref-
erably a hard cheese like Gruyere or Swiss.
With that and a pinch of nutmeg, you have
a mornay sauce.
Because of my luck — a gift of three
Dungeness crab — I added the crab to the
mornay and finished with some fresh cilan-
tro, salt and pepper and a few drops of
Tabasco.
Corn Buckwheat Crepes ingredients
Yields 11 10-inch crepes
• 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
• 1/3 cups corn meal (fine ground)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs
• ¾ liter whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 medium ears of corn, boiled for eight
minutes and removed from cob
Directions
Combine flours in a bowl and whisk to
blend. Then add the eggs, one at a time,
stirring to remove lumps.
Whisk in milk gradually and add salt,
pepper and cilantro. Let mixture set for at
least one hour.
Add the cooked and cooled corn and stir
to combine.
Heat crepe pan over medium-high
heat. Using a combination of vegetable oil
and butter, brush the crepe pan
lightly.
Adjust heat if pan is too hot. Pour
enough batter onto the pan to allow it to
flow to the sides and fill the pan to the
edges. Cook over medium to medium-high
heat until crepe is nicely browned on each
side, about three minutes per side. Move
finished crepe to a plate and place sheets
of waxed paper between each crepe, as this
makes for easy removal.
Laurie Anderson
The finished and plated crab béchamel with corn and buckwheat crepes.
David Campiche
Savory crab bechamel simmers on the stovetop.