Photos of Insalata di Granchio e Avocado by Mario

South coast of Italy is well known for its fresh, literally ‘out of the boat’ sea food. Every morning local fisherman sail back from Mediterranean Sea and set up their stalls with their catch, right on the shore – it’s as if they take the meaning of fresh to the next level!

The variety of fish and sea food being brought back from the sea is massive – anchovy, tuna, salmon, swordfish, octopus, crab, shrimp and many, many, maaaaaany more. So I’ve chosen Crab to show you how to make a delicious Crab and Avocado Salad.

Crab meat is very soft, delicate, and has a sweet taste, which in my opinion goes very well with ripe avocado, in both flavour and texture. To counterbalance that sweetness and softness I’m going to serve it with my take on a Sauce Vierge. Now, you might think that prepping crab meat is going to take some time, and you’re actually right! However, nowadays it’s very easy to get already prepped crab meat –just ask for it in your local fishmonger.

Although that crab meat has already been prepped, I’d suggest, for your own safety, to go through the meat again with the tip of your fingers, bit by bit, in case of any leftover pieces of shell.

 

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Insalata di Granchio e Avocado

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Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves 2

Recipe by Bill

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INGREDIENTS

For Sauce Vierge:

• 100 g cherry tomatoes
• Half a shallot onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp capers
• 100 ml of olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For Crab Salad

• White and brown meat of one crab
• 1 ripe avocado, finely diced
• Half a pack of rocket salad (approx. 35 g), washed and dried
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Sauce Vierge

1. Cut cherry tomatoes into quarters, then put into a bowl with finely chopped shallot and garlic, basil, parsley, capers, olive oil and lemon juice.
2. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper, then give it a good mix and set aside.

Crab Salad

1. Put white and brown crab meat into 2 separate bowls, season with sea salt and black pepper, then give it a mix.
2. Grab a couple of shallow bowls. Put half of the diced avocado in the middle of each one, then level the layer with the back of the spoon.
3. Put brown crab meat on the avocado, level it, then white crab meat on top of the brown one, and level it again.
4. Arrange half of the Sauce Vierge around each of the crab and avocado tower, then garnish with fresh rocket and season a little with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

NOTES

• Capers are a bit salty already, so remember to put only a little sea salt into the Sauce Vierge.
• If you’re not keen on capers, use 2 tbsp of finely diced cucumber.
• If you happen to buy an unripened avocado, my tip is to keep it next to the bananas – they speed up the process of ripening.
• If you want to create a neat and perfectly round tower, use a stainless steel ring, approx. 10 cm/4 inches in diameter.