Dungeness Crab Salad With Shaved Fennel Food

DUNGENESS CRAB SALAD

Steps:

• Make the dressing: Whisk together lime juice and ginger in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the salad: Slice or shave carrots, fennel, radish, rutabaga, and turnips, preferably on a mandoline, into very thin rounds over a large bowl; toss. Add vinaigrette, jalapeno, cilantro, and mint, and toss to combine. Season with salt. Gently fold in crab. Garnish with cilantro and mint.

CRAB AND FENNEL SALAD

Steps:

• Finely grind fennel seeds in grinder, then whisk together with salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined.
• Shave fennel bulb with slicer crosswise into paper-thin slices until you have enough to measure 1 packed cup. (Halve bulb lengthwise if too large for slicer.) Toss with 2 teaspoons vinaigrette in another small bowl.
• Toss crabmeat with chives and 1 tablespoon vinaigrette in a third small bowl.
• Put each metal ring in center of a salad plate. Divide crab mixture between them, pressing down on it lightly with your fingertips.
• Toss lettuces with fennel mixture and divide between rings, pressing slightly without flattening tops.
• Drizzle remaining vinaigrette and remaining tablespoon oil around plates. Remove rings before serving.

CHILLI CRAB WITH SHAVED FENNEL & PARSLEY SALAD

Steps:

• Trim the stalk away from the fennel and pull away the first layer of each bulb if it's looking tired or bruised. Slice the fennel into rounds as thinly as possible using a sharp knife or, better still, on a mandolin if you have one. Tip the fennel into a bowl and season with a pinch of sea salt. Squeeze over half the lemon juice and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, then set aside to marinate briefly.
• Tip the crabmeat into another bowl, season lightly, then add the rest of the lemon juice and olive oil, and half the chilli, and mix well. The crab and fennel can be prepared up to 2 hrs ahead and kept in the fridge, but bring the fennel out again 20 mins before serving.
• Mix the parsley and the rest of the chilli with the fennel. Divide between six plates, then top each one with a large spoonful of crabmeat in the middle. Scatter over the fennel fronds, lemon zest and a trickle of olive oil, then serve.

DUNGENESS CRAB SALAD WITH SHAVED FENNEL

Steps:

• To prepare mayonnaise: place egg yolks, dijon mustard, and 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice in a stand mixer. Beat until combined and slowly add 1 cup of olive oil drop by drop until mayonnaise is thick and emulsified. Add 1 more TBSP of lemon juice and 1 more cup of oil slowly. Stir in chopped tarragon, salt, and white pepper to taste. To prepare salad: combine crabmeat, apples, and mayonnaise to taste in a large bowl. Cover four small serving plates each with 1 cup of chiffonade greens. Place a pastry ring or a tuna can with top and bottom cut out in the center of each plate and spoon salad mixture into ring. Gently press to form cake shape and remove ring. Top each salad with a small handful of shaved fennel and serve. Note: For a different presentation lose the pastry ring and chiffonade and just mound the salad mixture on a small bed of mixed green. Fennel fronds and lemon slices make attractive garnishes.

DUNGENESS CRAB SALAD WITH SWEET PEA TENDRILS AND ORANGE DRESSING

Steps:

• To make the orange dressing: Heat the grapeseed oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add red onion and garlic and allow to sweat for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in tomatoes, orange and chives and cook for an additional 2 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in fresh mint leaves. Set aside until needed.
• For the crab salad: Combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce and mayonnaise in a medium mixing bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Using a 2 or 3-inch circle cutter, form crabmeat into rounds. Top with orange dressing and 2 tablespoons pea tendrils. Serve chilled.

DUNGENESS CRAB WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except tortillas and garnish and chill in the refrigerator. Serve within 3 to 4 hours.
• To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa and garnish. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with salsa and garnish, fold, and eat right away.

CELERY, FENNEL, AND APPLES SALAD WITH DUNGENESS CRAB

Steps:

• Pick through crab and remove any shell; if needed, rinse crab and squeeze dry. Refrigerate crab until ready to plate.
• Lightly peel the outside of the celery stalks to remove stringy portion. Cut the celery into paper-thin slices (a mandoline is best for this). You should have 1 cup. Trim fronds from fennel bulb, cut bulb in half lengthwise and cut out most of the solid core, leaving enough in place near the root end to hold fennel together. Shave fennel very thinly, too, so it is almost feathery, enough to make about 1 cup.
• Taste diced red onion; if very pungent, soak in cold water for about 15 minutes. Drain well, blot off excess moisture and combine with the celery and fennel. Cover with a damp towel and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Warm curry paste and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until curry paste looks grainy and becomes aromatic, about 15 seconds. In a small bowl, combine curry mixture, mayonnaise, 4 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice and a couple grinds of pepper; season with salt to taste.
• When ready to serve, cut apple into small dice and add to celery and fennel. Toss just enough curried dressing with the celery-fennel-apple salad to lightly coat.
• Whisk remaining 1-2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, dress lettuce with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat.
• Divide ingredients among 6 standard-size martini glasses, layering the lettuce, celery-fennel-apple salad and crab. Garnish crab with sprinkle of lemon zest and a fluff of mixed herbs. Serve with a lemon half-moon.