3/4 cup celery
3/4 cup onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 scallion, peeled
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon green bell pepper, seeded
1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon Colman's English dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
pinch salt (or to taste)
dash cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup cream or buttermilk
1 lb fresh crabmeat

A food processor helps speed up the preparation of this recipe, but if you'd like to prepare it without one, mince the celery, parsley, bell pepper, scallion, garlic and onion in advance.

Remove cartilage from crabmeat. Crush crackers in a food processor or place in a plastic bag and roll over using a rolling pin until fine. Ritz or Keebler Club crackers work best, but saltines may also be used.

If using a food processor, add first 6 ingredients to bowl; next add crackers; adding celery first. Leave out the crabmeat, melted butter, cream and paprika; process by pulsing a few times until all ingredients are evenly minced. It helps to cut vegetables into 1-2 inch pieces before adding so that results will be uniform. Remove strings from celery first for best results.

Combine cream with melted butter and pour in a steady stream while "pulsing" the processor quickly (1 second only). Add crabmeat last, and pulse again, just to mix (or stir in by hand to keep larger chunks).

Spoon the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart buttered ovenproof casserole dish or buttered shells, custard cups or ramekins. Brush the top with a bit of butter and sprinkle the center lightly with paprika.

Bake in a 350F oven for 30-40 minutes (for a casserole dish) or about 20 minutes for smaller portions (watch closely so they don't over brown). Note: The original recipe calls for heavy cream which may be used for the most wonderful devilled crabmeat, just as rich and flavorful as can be, but if you're watching calories, this same dish may be prepared with good results using light cream or buttermilk.

A note on buttermilk: Buttermilk is a health food, low in fat and usually prepared from low-fat milk; it is a good source of calcium, protein, Vitamin A, phosphorus, folate and potassium. Most buttermilk contains live active cultures, like yogurt does, which are beneficial to a health digestion (check the label). Buttermilk is often maligned because people believe it contains large amounts of butter, but in fact, it contains none! It adds a tangy flavor to deviled crab, but some feel it is an acquired taste. Give it a try - then you decide!

Submitted by: CM