Crab Salad With Lemon-Mayonnaise Dressing

Name: Crab Salad With Lemon-Mayonnaise Dressing
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1/2 lb French haricots vert; 1 cup walnut halves; 2 lemons, scrubbed; 1 large egg yolk; 1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard; 1/2 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil; 1 -2 tablespoon water (optional); sea salt; black pepper, freshly ground; 2 garlic cloves; 1 (20 ounce) English cucumbers; 1 lb fresh lump crabmeat (drained & picked over); 2 heads butter lettuce; 1 bunch watercress; 2 -3 teaspoons walnut oil (plus more as needed) (optional)

Submitted by Busters friend

"Here's to the wish for an excellent blue crab season. They are slowly making a comeback around here. There is no substitute for freshly steamed & picked Eastern Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. They are good for you too - 3 ounces of blue crabmeat provides a full day's allowance B12. Don't be fooled into buying tinned crab meat from the eastern Pacific or China (shudder). The taste & texture are grossly inferior & there are sanitation concerns. Best save this recipe for special occasions warranting you either pick freshly steamed Jimmies you have bought or caught or pony up for for the $18/lb lump backfin. We enjoy throwing out our baited traps & then using handlines for sport while waiting to retrieve traps after a tidal cycle. This recipe in The Washington Post was adapted from Joyce Goldstein's "Mediterranean Fresh" (W.W. Norton, 2008)."

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Ready In:: 25mins
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 4

ingredients

¹⁄₂ lb French haricots vert
1 cup walnut halves
2 lemons, scrubbed
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard
¹⁄₂ cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
1 -2 tablespoon water (optional)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
2 garlic cloves
1 (20 ounce) English cucumbers
1 lb fresh lump crabmeat (drained & picked over)
2 heads butter lettuce
1 bunch watercress
2 -3 teaspoons walnut oil (plus more as needed) (optional)

directions

Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes. Trim the ends of the haricots verts, if desired.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the haricots verts and cook for about 1 minute, just until bright green; use tongs to transfer the beans to the ice-water bath to stop their cooking. Transfer them to a clean, dry dish towel, wrap them up and refrigerate until ready to use.
While the haricots verts are cooking, dry-toast the walnuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking or stirring to make sure they do not burn. Remove from the heat; when the nuts have cooled slightly, chop them coarsely and place half of them in a large bowl.
Finely grate the zest of 2 lemons (there should be 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons), then cut the lemons in half and juice 3 halves (there should be about 3 tablespoons); reserve the remaining 1/2 lemon for another use.
Combine the egg yolk, mustard and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl or 2-cup glass measuring cup. Slowly whisk in the oil until the mixture is emulsified and quite thick. Add up to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice; add a tablespoon or two of water if a thinner consistency is desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Use a Microplane grater or zester to pulp the garlic cloves, working over the large bowl to catch any juices; then add the garlic pulp. Cut the cucumber into 1/2-inch dice (there should be about 2 1/2 cups) and add it to the bowl, along with the crabmeat and the lemon zest. Add the dressing and toss gently to combine.
Wash and dry the lettuce and watercress leaves, discarding any tough watercress stems; tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces. Place the greens in a mixing bowl and drizzle with the walnut oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Distribute evenly among individual plates, then divide the haricots verts evenly and place them neatly on the greens; drizzle them with oil, if desired. Divide the dressed cucumber-crab mixture among the salads. Sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts over the salads. Serve immediately.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Busters friend

Pleasure Island, 73

First about Buster: Buster moved onto whatever comes next on February 26, 2008. He was just shy of five years old. I miss him terribly. He came into our lives when he ran out in front of my car late one night as I was driving home. A just under 4 pound ball of kitten fluff, complete with an ostrich boa tail that stayed straight up as he assessed his new domain. He became a 19 pound longhaired beast who guarded our house (he followed any new guests or servicepeople the entire time they are on the property) & even killed copperheads (among other things with his hunting buddy, Fergus the short-tailed)! Friends never saw his formidible side as he smiled at them & uttered the most incongruent kitten-like mews as he threaded legs! He liked to ride in the car & came to the beach. There are Buster-approved recipes in my offerings - however, HE decided which he wanted to consider - Buster demonstrated he liked pumpkin anything - ALOT -LOL!!! Copperhead count 2006 - Buster 2 (10 inchers w/yellow tails) 2007 - Buster & Roxie 1 (a 24 incher!) Buster woken from beauty sleep - http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0335.JPG Big whiskers - http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0333.JPG For those of you who gave kind condolences - thank you so very much. http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=250301 I love to cook & incorporate techniques from Southern/Mid Atlantic roots (grits, eastern NC BBQ shoulders, Brunswick stew, steamed crabs & shrimp & shellfish, hushpuppies, cornbread, greens, shad roe, scrapple) with Pacific Rim foods & techniques aquired while living in Pacific Northwest, fish & game recipes learned while living in Rocky Mountain region & foods/techniques learned travelling to the Big Island & up into BC & Alberta & into the Caribbean. The Middle Eastern/African likes I have are remnants of my parents who lived for many years in North Africa & Mediterranean before I was thought of. Makes for wide open cooking! Since moving back east we try to go annually in the deep winter to Montreal (Old Montreal auberges & La Reine) & Quebec City (Winter Carnival & Chateau Frontenac)- for unctuous foie gras & real cheeses, French & Canadian meals prepared & served exquisitely, fantastic music & wonderful people - with the cold helping burn off some of the calories! I love putting in our aluminum jonboat & heading across the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to the barrier islands for foraging & exploring! Bodysurfing is a lifelong sport for me - one that a person's body never seems to forget how to do, once the knack is learned (thank goodness!) I especially miss cool summers & foggy/drizzly days & fall mushroom foraging/anytime of year hot springing in WA, OR, MT, ID, BC & Alberta.

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