Stone Crab Salad with Baby Tomato Confit
Cooked at low temperature in olive oil with herbs, the tomatoes form a colorful and soft base for a tower of stone crab salad and avocado. Other types of lump crab or even shrimp could be used as well.
Ingredients
- Baby Tomato Confit
- Cherry Tomatoes - 20
- Yellow Teardrop Tomatoes - 20
- Olive Oil - 8 cups
- Rosemary Sprigs - 1, torn into pieces
- Bay Leaves - 2
- Sauce
- Tomato - 1, skinned and seeded
- Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoons
- Reserved oil from tomato confit - 1/4 cup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Stone crab meat - 2 pounds
- Chives - 3 tablespoons, chopped
- Champagne Vinegar - 3 tablespoons
- Juice of 1 lime
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Garnish
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Water - 1 cup
- Avocado - 1
- Chives - 3 tablespoons, chopped
- Whole Chives - 16
Instructions
To prepare the tomato confit: Preheat the oven to 200 F. Put the red tomatoes and half the oil in an ovenproof dish; put the yellow tomatoes and the remaining oil in another ovenproof dish. Add rosemary and a bay leaf to each. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and cook 5 hours. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth. Reserve the red and yellow tomato oils separately.
To make the sauce: Put the tomato, lemon juice, 1/4 cup reserved “red tomato” olive oil, and salt and pepper in a blender and puree until emulsified. Set aside in a squeeze bottle.
To prepare the crab meat: Pick over the crab meat to remove any shell. Combine the crab meat, champagne vinegar, and chopped chives; season with salt and pepper to taste.
To prepare the garnish: Mix the lemon juice and water in a bowl. Peel the avocado and remove the pit; dip the avocado in the lemon water. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes, dipping into the lemon water again. Set aside.
To serve: Place a 4-inch metal ring on each serving plate. Pack with a layer of drained red tomatoes, then drained yellow tomatoes. Press down to pack. Top with stone crab meat, pressing down gently. Lift the rings. Mound avocado cubes on top of each. Drizzle sauce and a little yellow confit oil around the plates. Sprinkle with chopped chives. Stand 4 whole chives in the top of each salad.
