From “Vegetable Harvest,” by Patricia Wells. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 pound fresh cooked crab meat
Zest and juice of 2 limes
Zest of 2 oranges
1/2 cup finely minced fresh chives
Fine sea salt
Coarsely ground white pepper
2 ripe avocados, halved lengthwise, pitted and peeled
1 tablespoon almond oil or extra-virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, lime juice, orange zest and chives. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Set aside.
With a very sharp knife, slice each avocado half lengthwise into 4 slices. Place 2 slices on each of 4 chilled dinner plates. Mound a quarter of the crab meat on top of the avocado slices on each of the chilled plates. Cover each mound of crab with 2 slices of avocado. Drizzle with almond oil. Season generously with fleur de sel, white pepper and lime zest.
Wine ideas: Incredibly rich with the unctuous avocado and sweet crab meat, this dish needs a wine with strong acidity to refresh the palate between bites. Check out an Australian Riesling, which has the dry flavors and zingy, citric acidity this dish will appreciate. Jacob’s Creek, Yalumba, Pewsey Vale and Plantagenet make good examples for less than $16.
Tara Q. Thomas
