Crabmeat Salad
Fresh crab is combined with cucumber and cilantro and sparked with mango and mint in this delightful mixture of tastes, colors, and textures.
Ingredients
- Crabmeat Salad
- Crabmeat - 16 oz, carefully picked over to remove shells
- Lime Juice - 2 tablespoons, fresh
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cucumber-Mango Salad
- Cucumber - 1/2 cup, finely diced
- Mango - 1/2 cup, finely diced
- Lime Juice - 1 teaspoon, fresh
- Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon
- Cilantro - 1/2 teaspoon, minced fresh
- Mint - 1/4 teaspoon, minced fresh
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cucumber Coulis
- Cucumber - 1 unpeeled fresh, seeded and chopped
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Lime Juice - 1 teaspoon, fresh
- Mango Coulis
- Mango - 1 very ripe, peeled, pitted, and chopped
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Lime Juice - 1 tablespoon fresh
- Garnish
- Cucumber - 1/2, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchsticks
- Mango - 1/2, peeled, pitted, and cut into matchsticks
- Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon
- Lime Juice - 1 teaspoon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Mint - 4 fresh sprigs
- Cilantro - 4 fresh sprigs
Instructions
To make the crabmeat salad: Carefully pick over the crabmeat, removing any bits of shell. Place the crabmeat into a small bowl and mix with the lime juice and olive oil. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the cucumber-mango salad: In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the cucumber coulis: Place the cucumber in a blender or food processor and puree. Transfer to a fine-meshed sieve and allow the excess moisture to drain off. Place the cucumber pulp back in the blender or processor, add the remaining ingredients, and puree until smooth. Place the coulis in a squeeze bottle and set aside.
To make the mango coulis: In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients and puree until completely smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Place into a squeeze bottle and set aside.
To prepare the garnish: In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber and mango with the olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
To serve: In the center of each serving plate, place a 3-inch-diameter stainless steel ring and spoon one-fourth of the crabmeat salad into each, pressing it down with the back of a spoon. Spoon some of the cucumber-mango salad on top of the crabmeat and again smooth the top, gently pressing down. Remove the rings. Squeeze five dots of each coulis, evenly spaced, around the edge of the plates. Arrange a few matchsticks of cucumber and mango around each plate, and garnish with a sprig each of mint and cilantro.
