Santola Gratinada

Name: Santola Gratinada (Portuguese crab au gratin)
Yield: Serves Four
Cuisine: Portugal
Ingredients: mayonnaise, 2 tbs; fresh breadcrumbs (see below); ketchup, 3 tbs; made mustard, 5 tsp; large crabs, 2; salt and pepper; toasted breadcrumbs, 2 tbs; grated cheese, 2 tbs; a little butter; hard-boiled eggs, 2, chopped; pickled onions, 4, chopped; small pickled gherkins, 4, chopped; salt and pepper

Portuguese crab au gratin

Preparation info

Serves
Four

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

North Atlantic Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

About

This dish, cooked for me by Cristina de Freitas, has been a favourite in her family in Lisbon for two generations.

Ingredients

large crabs, 2
fresh breadcrumbs (see below)
mayonnaise, 2 tbs
made mustard

Europe
Portugal
Lisbon
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

Cook the crabs in boiling water, shell them and reserve the meat. Soak in milk a quantity of fresh breadcrumbs equal in volume to the crab meat.

Mix 6 tablespoonfuls of the water in which the crabs were cooked with the mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, pickles and eggs. Add the soaked breadcrumbs, after squeezing out excess liquid, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the crab