It’s crab season and we here at Parties That Cook are ready to provide you with a unique way to use your crab. From Santa Cruz to San Francisco, the temperature of the ocean creates a perfect habitat for crab season.

Although crab tastes delicious plain and dipped and butter, would you ever think of adding it to a quesadilla? Well we have, and it’s one of our favorites!

Crab Quesadillas:
1 pound of fresh crabmeat, picked through to remove any shells or cartilage 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup green Pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds), toasted in a dry pan for 3 minutes
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh marjoram, chopped
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
4 ounces Cotija cheese, grated
7 ounces Monterey Jack, grated

Salsa:
3 dried chipotle peppers, stem and seeds removed
1 cup boiling-hot water (for steeping peppers)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and cut in half
1/4 small white onion, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 teaspoons lime juice

3-5 Tablespoons canola oil (for cooking)
10 eight-inch flour tortillas

Garnish:
Cilantro leaves

Methods/Steps:
Quesadilla Filling/Crab: In a medium bowl, mix the crabmeat with the lemon juice and salt.  Set aside.

Quesadilla Filling/Other: In a bowl, combine the pepitas, marjoram, parsley and the grated/crumbled cheeses. Mix.

Salsa: Put tomatoes on a sheet pan and broil them, turning once, until blackened on both sides (about 3 minutes a side); remove and discard skins. Remove stem and seeds from the chipotles.  Toast chipotles in a small dry sauté pan, pressing with a spatula, until they turn deep red and smell aromatic, about 30 seconds a side.  In a medium bowl, put peppers into the hot water; cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until soft, about 15 minutes. Purée peppers, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro in a food processor until smooth.  With machine running, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream.  Season with salt.  Put in serving bowl.

Assemble/Cook Quesadillas: Add 1 Tablespoon of canola oil to a non-stick pan over medium heat.  Lay a tortilla flat in the pan. Place some cheese and crab filling on top, and cover with another tortilla.  Cook for a few minutes until golden, then turn and cook until toasty on the other side.  Remove from heat.  Repeat until all ingredients have been used.

Serve: Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles. Place on the serving platter, surrounding the salsa. Garnish with leaves of cilantro.

These are perfect for an appetizer or could even be made larger for a main course. Get to cooking because the best crab comes during the winter.