lunch, brunch, or a beautiful meal in the middle of the day, followed by a nap, is pure luxury for jim and me. we take our weekend-big-meals mid-day whenever we get the chance, and this salad followed a cold soup starter for lunch on a hot afternoon in august.
i found the recipe on cooksillustrated.com, but i substituted plain yogurt for mayo in the crab salad, and used grilled crab leg meat instead of lump crabmeat. i also made my own mold for assembling the salad towers by cutting the bottom 2 inches off of a clear plastic cup, instead of using a biscuit cutter which i don't have. the result was identical to the photo: a tri-colored tower that tasted of fresh flavors: sweet, tart, creamy, with a little heat from the chili & spices. we paired it with a bottle of sparkling sophia and promptly retired for a sweet-dream-siesta.
Serves 6. Cooks Illustrated, Published February 1, 2005 (with my changes)
INGREDIENTS
| Crabmeat Salad | |
| 3 | tablespoons extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 | tablespoon champagne vinegar |
| 1 | teaspoon grated lemon zest or minced |
| 1/2 | teaspoon Dijon mustard |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/8 | teaspoon ground black pepper |
| 2 | tablespoons plain yogurt |
| 1 1/2 | cups grilled crab-leg meat, chopped |
| Gazpacho Salsa | |
| 1 | yellow bell pepper , cored, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup) |
| 1/2 | small cucumber , peeled if desired, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup) |
| 1 | medium plum tomato , cored, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup) |
| 1 | small rib celery , cut into 1/8-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup) |
| 1/2 | small red onion , minced (about 1/4 cup) |
| 1/2 | small jalapeño chile , stemmed, seeded, and minced |
| 1 | tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves |
| 3/4 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/4 | teaspoon ground black pepper |
| 2 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil |
| 1 | tablespoon sherry vinegar |
| Avocado Salsa | |
| 3 | avocados (ripe), cut into 1/4-inch dice |
| 1/4 | teaspoon ground coriander |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon ground black pepper |
| 2 | tablespoons lime juice from 1 lime |
| Garnish | |
| 1 | cup frisée |
| 2 | orange segments |
INSTRUCTIONS
1. FOR THE CRABMEAT SALAD: whisk the olive oil, champagne vinegar, lemon zest, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. measure 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette into a medium bowl and mix with the yogurt. add the crabmeat to the yogurt mixture and toss to coat. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. set the remaining vinaigrette aside.2. FOR THE GAZPACHO SALSA: toss the yellow bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, celery, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, salt, pepper, olive oil, and sherry vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. FOR THE AVOCADO SALSA: toss the avocado, coriander, salt, pepper, and lime juice in a medium bowl and set aside.
4. TO ASSEMBLE: use an exacto knife and a pair of scissors to cut the bottom 2 or 3 inches off of a clear plastic cup. Put the large end of the cup in the center of a plate and use a soup spoon to press the avocado salsa into the bottom. press the crab salad on top of the avocado salsa, followed by the gazpacho salsa. gently press the side of the inverted cup a little to loosen the tower of food, and then lift it off.
5. dress the frisée with the remaining champagne vinaigrette. place a few sprigs of the dressed frisée on top of each crab tower and arrange the orange segments around the towers.
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make a mold for this salad by cutting off the bottom of a plastic cup.
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