Put crab on a pedestal by baking a flounder around it.

Flounder and blue crabs occupy the same spaces in the marsh, bay and Gulf, so this combination has always intrigued me. 

I am indeed calling this Crab Surrounded by Flounder because of the volume of crab stuffing going into the fish is about equal to the amount of flounder. Start with a good-sized flounder in the 16-inch range, though you could certainly use a larger flounder and stuff it with a full batch of the crab cake mix (and roast it for a longer time).

Scale and gut the flounder, and remove the gills. For scaling, I'm very partial to a curry comb used for grooming horses, and if you ever use one for scaling, you'll see why. They're absolutely magical at removing scales.

Cut along the visible lateral line of the flounder, about halfway down the body, and enlarge this cut by running the knife outward along the bones emanating from the spine to create a large pocket, stopping at the periphery of the fish.

This pocket is then stuffed with my crab cake mix, minus the final breading in breadcrumbs (though there is a small amount of breadcrumb in the mix to bind it). All of these flavors that are so very good with crab-sweet peppers, butter, herbs and lemon-also meld perfectly with flounder. Flounder even has a similar texture to crab. It's just such a glorious pairing.

Roast the fish as is, or throw some vegetables into the pan with it. I think of this as a summer or fall dish, so tomatoes, green beans and okra all make sense here, and will cook in the same timeframe as the flounder. Crisp, slightly charred green beans bathed in the olive oil and juices from the crab and fish are as good as you'd think they'd be.

serves 4

½ batch crab cake mix (mixed, but not breaded in breadcrumbs)

1 head-on, scaled flounder, about 16-18” long

Olive oil

Salt

Lemon or lime wedges, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Starting right behind the gills on the dark (top) side of the flounder, cut a line following the lateral line–the halfway point of the fish–all the way to the tail, tracing the backbone. Starting with this cut, run a thin-bladed knife along the rib bones above and below this line all the way to the edges of the flounder, leaving the skin attached at the periphery and creating a large pocket on top of the ribs on the top of the flounder. Dry the fish well.

Season the inside of the flounder with a little salt. Stuff the crab cake mixture evenly into the cavity of the flounder.

Brush olive oil on a baking sheet just big enough to hold the flounder. Sprinkle some salt on the sheet, then lay the flounder on the oil and salt. Drizzle the top of the flounder with olive oil, then season well with salt.

At this point, you can add vegetables to the pan that can be roasted alongside the flounder. Good options are green beans, small tomatoes and/or okra. Toss these in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Scatter around the flounder.

Roast in the oven until the flounder is cooked through and flakes easily at the thickest part behind the head, about 25-30 minutes.

Allow the fish to rest for a couple of minutes before using two thin spatulas to gently lift it onto a serving platter, or simply serve it off of the baking sheet. Serve with lemon or lime wedges.