Crab and Artichoke Bake with a Plantain Top
Lump crab folded through artichoke hearts, soft celery, and shallot, then baked under thin green plantain coins that crisp at the edges while everything underneath stays juicy.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
A tub of crab in the refrigerator and no appetite for standing at the stove turning things over is where this one starts. Everything happens in one pan and then in the oven, and the twenty five minutes it bakes are yours. I like it on a cool evening in early spring, when the artichokes and the lemon still taste like winter cooking but the dill has started to show up at the market again. It also happens to be the dish I bring out when someone is coming over, because a browned plantain top over pale crab looks like far more effort than it took, and nobody needs to know that.
The one thing worth doing properly is the binder. A third of the artichoke hearts get mashed with the bone broth, the lemon, and a spoonful of olive oil until they are rough and thick, and that is what holds the bake together where a flour sauce or cream would normally do the job. It tastes green and a little nutty, and it keeps the crab from drying out in the oven. Slice the celery thin so it softens in the time the bake takes, cut the plantain coins as thin as you can manage, and fold the crab in last with your hands so the big pieces stay big.
Crab is sweet and mild and it eats delicately, so the surprise is how solidly this sits. A pound of it across four plates is a real amount of protein, the artichokes bring the kind of fiber that slows a meal down, and the green plantain on top is starchy enough that nobody goes looking for bread. What ties it together is the finish: dill and chives scattered over the hot dish, and a squeeze of lemon if the crab was on the sweeter side. The top shatters a little under the spoon, and the layer underneath is loose and juicy rather than set.
Ingredients
- 1 lb cooked lump crab meat, picked over for shell
- 2 cans (14 oz each) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (about 3 cups)
- 4 celery stalks, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
- 3 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 large green plantain (about 8 oz peeled), sliced into 1/8-inch coins
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 3/4 cup chicken bone broth
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 3 tbsp thinly sliced chives
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided
Instructions
- Heat the oven and prep the crab: Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Tip the crab into a colander and press it gently with the back of a spoon to shed the water it is sitting in, since that water would thin the binder and leave the bake soupy, then spread it on a plate and pick through it for bits of shell. Leave the lumps whole.
- Soften the celery and shallot: Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, shallots, and a quarter teaspoon of the salt and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until the celery has lost its squeak and the shallots are translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, just until it smells sweet.
- Make the artichoke binder: Put about a third of the quartered artichoke hearts in a bowl with the bone broth, the lemon juice, and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Mash with a fork or a potato masher until you have a rough, thick puree with a few pieces still in it. Stir it into the skillet off the heat.
- Fold in the crab and fill the dish: Add the remaining artichoke hearts, the dill, half the chives, and a quarter teaspoon of the salt to the skillet, then fold the crab through with your hands or a spatula in two or three motions. Spread it into a 9-inch square or oval baking dish and level the top gently without packing it down, because pressed crab bakes dense rather than staying in loose tender pieces.
- Top with plantain and bake: Slice the peeled plantain into thin coins, toss them with a pinch of the remaining salt, and shingle them over the surface in overlapping rows. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the plantain edges are deep gold and crisp and the sauce is bubbling around the rim of the dish.
- Rest and finish: Let the dish sit for 5 minutes so the juices settle back into the crab. Scatter the rest of the chives over the top and serve straight from the dish, cutting down through the plantain so every spoonful gets some of the crisp layer.
Variations
- Green on top: Fold two big handfuls of chopped spinach into the hot celery so it wilts before the crab goes in.
- Olive and lemon: Add a third of a cup of chopped kalamata olives with the artichokes for a saltier, brinier version.
- Mushroom depth: Brown eight ounces of sliced mushrooms in the pan first and leave them in for a bake that tastes more savory than sweet.
- Sweet potato top: Swap the plantain for very thin rounds of sweet potato, brushed with oil, and bake an extra 10 minutes.
- Single dishes: Divide everything among four small gratin dishes for a shorter bake of about 18 minutes and more crisp top per person.
Storage & Leftovers
Leftovers keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The crab layer is at its best on day two, when the artichoke and lemon have worked all the way through it, though the plantain top will have softened overnight no matter how crisp it was going in.
Reheat in a 375°F (190°C) oven for about 15 minutes, uncovered, which is the only method that brings the plantain coins back. A microwave warms the crab evenly enough but leaves the top damp, so if that is the route you are taking, plan on eating it as a soft bake and add fresh chives.
I would not freeze this one. Crab turns stringy and slightly watery after a spell in the freezer, and thawed plantain goes gray at the edges. If you want a head start, cook the celery and shallot and make the artichoke binder up to 2 days ahead, then fold in the crab on the night.
Notes & Tips
- Buy the crab in the refrigerated case: Pasteurized lump crab in a tub has better texture than the shelf-stable can and needs only a quick pick for shell.
- Press out the packing liquid: Crab sitting in its own water will thin the bake. A gentle press in a colander is enough, and wringing it will break the lumps.
- Fold, do not stir: Two or three passes with a spatula keeps the pieces whole. Stirring turns a pound of good crab into shreds in about ten seconds.
- Score the plantain to peel it: Cut off both ends, run a knife down the ridges through the skin only, then lift the peel away in strips under warm water.
- Shingle the coins: Overlapping them like roof tiles gives you crisp edges and soft centers, which is a better top than a single flat layer.
- Let it rest: Five minutes out of the oven lets the juices go back into the crab so the first spoonful is not a puddle.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Crab, artichokes, and green plantain each do a different job here. The crab gives the dish its substance and most of its protein, the artichokes bring fiber and a soft green sweetness, and the starchy plantain on top is what makes it eat like a full dinner rather than a side.
- Crab is sweet and mild and comes apart in loose lumps, and for something so delicate it carries a real amount of protein along with the zinc and B12 that shellfish are known for, which is a lot to get from a food that tastes this light.
- Artichoke hearts turn silky and faintly nutty in the oven, and the inulin fiber in them is the sort your gut bacteria feed on. Mashing some of them into a binder means that fiber is spread through every spoonful rather than sitting in occasional chunks.
- Green plantain is starchy and firm and browns like a potato, and picked while it is still green it holds resistant starch, a form of carbohydrate that passes through more slowly than the starch in a ripe one and helps the dish stay with you.
- Dill, chives, and lemon go on at the end for a reason. All three fade in the heat of an oven, so adding them late is what keeps a dish of soft baked things tasting sharp and green rather than flat.
- As you eat, listen for the way the plantain top gives under the spoon and notice how loosely the crab sits underneath it, and let the dish be something you sit down to rather than eat standing over the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use something other than crab?
Yes. A pound of chopped cooked shrimp works with no other changes, and flaked cooked cod or halibut is good if you fold it in very gently at the end. Canned crab is fine too, though it is wetter, so drain it well and press it before it goes in.
My plantain top went soft rather than crisp. What happened?
Usually the coins were cut too thick or the plantain was too ripe. Use a plantain that is still green and firm with no yellow on it, slice it about an eighth of an inch, and give the coins a little space so steam escapes rather than collecting between them.
Can I assemble it ahead of time?
Assemble the crab layer, cover it, and refrigerate for up to a day. Slice and add the plantain just before it goes in the oven, since raw plantain darkens once it is cut. A cold dish needs about 10 extra minutes in the oven.
Does this fit an AIP elimination phase?
It does. There are no grains, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, or nightshades in it, and the seasoning is garlic, shallot, dill, chives, and lemon. Check that your canned artichokes are packed in water or olive oil with nothing else added, since some brands include citric acid blends.