These bagels were a complete and utter brain child. I heard about Montreal style bagels – bagels that are boiled with a little bit of honey and have a soft, chewy crust – and wanted to make my own! However, a bagel on its own, while tasty, can be a little one-note, and I wanted to pair them with something. I was trying to think of fun things to do, and I kept thinking back to some of my favorite things to eat with or on bread. One of those is this creamy crab salad with cucumbers, inspired by the crab, cucumber, and green apple mille feuille that was served at Fauchon, a concept my friend Kristal told me about back in college! However, I did not want the bagel to be too mild and sweet, so I wanted to add something else that I know works well with crab – chili. Chili crisp, specifically. Chili crisp is a kind of chili oil made by heating up oil and pouring that over dried chili flakes, causing the flakes to crisp up and go crunchy. It is a common thing to do in Chinese cooking, since the hot oil causes the chilies to bloom and develop a smoky taste. Unlike your usual chili crisp, mine uses everything bagel seasoning, just to play off of the fact that this chili crisp is being used on a bagel! It works nicely to season the crab salad, and as an additional garnish to add a nuttiness and spice that keeps these bagels from being boring.

With the recipe, we have a bagel dough that is boiled in lightly honeyed water, per the tradition of Montreal bagels, rolled in sesame seeds, and baked. If you do not want to make your own bagels, just use store bought ones. I will judge you, but work smarter, not harder is something people like to do, and I guess I am not one of those people – if I was, maybe I would be an innovator, but at least I can say I can make my own bagels, so there’s that I guess? With the crab salad itself, it hinges on the chili crisp to provide texture, heat, and smokiness. I also used creme fraiche to add a creamy tang that plays off the crab itself quite nicely. Keep in mind with lump crab meat, which we are using in this recipe, that there may be shell pieces, so be sure to rummage through the crab to remove any shell pieces before mixing it with the other ingredients. With the chili oil, it takes maybe 4 minutes to make from start to finish. I also used cucumbers and dill as garnishes, just to add a fresher component, and to help temper any overt spiciness in the crisp(if there is any), and since the dill works beautifully with both the crab and the seasonings in the everything bagel mix! Minus making the bagel dough, this recipe can come together in less than 10 minutes if we are being honest here, and it is a delicious meal to make for breakfast or brunch!

Makes 4 servings:
For the dough:
2/3 cups lukewarm water
1 packet instant dry yeast
1 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp oil

In a bowl, mix together all of your ingredients except the oil, kneading everything into a smooth and elastic dough. Place the dough into a bowl that is lined with the oil and let the dough rest in the bowl, covered with cling wrap, for 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and poke holes into the middle of each dough piece, stretching the dough with your thumbs into hoops with a 1 1/2-inch hole. Place the dough onto lightly oiled pieces of parchment.

For the boiling liquid:
2 cups water
2 tbsp honey
a pinch of salt

Bring everything to a boil in a pot. Boil the bagel dough in the water for 1 minute on each side.

For bagel assembly:
1/2 cup toasted white sesame seeds
1/2 cup toasted black sesame seeds

Toss the boiled bagels in the sesame seeds on each side. Reserve the remaining sesame seeds for the chili crisp. Transfer the bagels to a lined sheet tray and bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

For the everything bagel chili crisp:
2oz canola oil
1oz sesame seeds
1 tbsp crushed dried chilies/chili flakes
1 tbsp everything bagel seasoning
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat up the canola oil until it registers to at least 250 degrees F. Put the other ingredients in a bowl. Pour the hot oil over the ingredients, and allow the oil to fully cool down before using.

For the crab salad:
6oz lump crab meat
1oz creme fraiche
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vinegar
2 tbsp chili crisp

In a bowl, mix everything together to form a creamy crab salad. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until time to assemble.

For the garnish:
1 Persian cucumber, cut into thin slices
1 tsp vinegar
a pinch of salt
Fresh dill

In a bowl, toss the cucumber with the vinegar and salt. To assemble the bagels, start by cutting the bagels in half and toasting them on just the cut side. Spoon on a generous amount of the crab salad onto each half-bagel and top with the cucumber slices, more chili crisp, and the fresh dill to finish.