Simply delicious crab spread

A favourite for impromptu entertaining!

This spread is so quick and easy to prepare that I almost feel guilty when I serve it as I wonder if people expect me to go to more effort. The good news is that as soon as they taste it, all is forgiven. One of the things I love best about this recipe is that I can keep the ingredients on hand for months at a time, so I can always whip up a batch whenever the need arises. You could vary things by using chèvre instead of cream cheese, and I’ve also made it with chopped, cooked cocktail shrimp instead of the crab.

Ingredients

• One tub (8 oz/226 g) soft cream cheese
• 1 cup (250 mL) seafood cocktail sauce
• 1 can (6 oz/170 g) crab meat
• Small handful chopped fresh parsley, chives or green onion tops, to garnish
• Assorted crackers, to serve

Method

• With a knife, spread the cream cheese out in a relatively even layer on a serving platter or plate approximately 9-10 inches (22.5-25 cm) in diameter.
• Pour the cocktail sauce over the cream cheese, spreading with a spoon as needed to cover evenly.
• Drain the can of crab meat then sprinkle the crab over the cocktail sauce. Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the crab meat.
• At this point, the crab spread can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 8 hours before serving.
• Accompany the crab spread with a basket of crackers on the side and several small knives, for ease of serving.