Crab Salad With Mustard Phyllo Crisps And A Tomato Basil Vinaigrette Recipes

Steps:

• Melt butter with grain mustard and set aside. Lay phyllo out in sheets, brush first sheet with butter, place second sheet on top and repeat process. Cut into 12 even size squares and place on baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until golden brown and set aside. In a food processor puree garlic, shallots, basil, and tomato, add rice vinegar and puree until smooth. Emulsify by slowly adding in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and set aside. Combine crab, papaya and dressing being careful not to overwork the crab. Using 2 phyllo squares to an order, layer crab and phyllo to form a tower. Garnish with chives, basil, or the edible green of your choice.;

Steps:

• Make soft-shelled crabs:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Dip each crab in milk and them lightly coat both sides with flour. Heat butter and oil together in a large, oven proof (no plastic handles) pan over medium heat. Add crabs and sauté until crispy and golden, about 4 minutes. Place pan in preheated oven and cook 3 more minutes. Transfer crabs to paper toweling to absorb oil. Set aside and keep warm.
• Make warm herb vinaigrette:
• In a large bowl, combine shallots, basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. After these ingredients are incorporated, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Mix well, cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When ready to prepare dish, warm the vinaigrette in a sauce pan over high heat, removing from stove when it begins to simmer.
• Make wilted spinach:
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and sauté 4 minutes, until wilted. Drain liquid.
• Serve:
• Place wilted spinach on one side of four individual dinner plates. Arrange two soft-shell crabs over each mound of spinach, overlapping one over the other. Spoon tomato vinaigrette over crabs and around the sides of the plate.
• To properly clean a soft-shelled crab:
• Peel back the pointed part of the shell and scrape away the gills from each side. Using sharp scissors, cut off the head and carefully squeeze out the green bubble behind the eyes. Next, bend back the "apron," the thin piece that folds under the crab. Twist the apron until it breaks off, removing the intestinal vein at the same time.

Steps:

• To make the crisps, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and cumin seeds. Add the vinegar, butter and water and mix thoroughly, but do not overmix.
• Working in batches and using a pastry brush, dab very thin 2-inch discs of batter onto a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
• To make the crab salad, break up the lumps with your fingers, removing any shell or cartilage but leaving the crab as intact as possible. Refrigerate. In a blender, combine the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, lemon juice, oil, vinegar and basil and blend until smooth. Season to taste.
• Slowly stir the tomato sauce into the crab meat. Coat the crab, but do not soak it. Place 3 scoops of crab salad on each of 6 plates. Place a cumin crisp between each scoop. Garnish with the mache and the mangoes.

Steps:

• Stir together sour cream, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
• Put tomatoes, crab, chives, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper into a large bowl and toss gently to combine.
• Spoon tomato and crab salad onto plates and serve with dollops of the dill sour cream on the side for dipping.

Steps:

• Gently mix flaked imitation crab, celery, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, sugar, and parsley in a salad bowl until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally. Stir again just before serving.