Fresh Crab Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Here is a recipe for an appetizer I paired at the recent Roadtreking Gathering at Indian Leap Winery in Sonoma California.  The appetizer is refreshing and paired fabulously with the Indian Leap Wineries Grenache.  Enjoy this as a small bite or top a green salad with a slightly larger portion (1/2 cup per serving) and enjoy as a main meal.

Want more recipes like this?  Check out my Leisure Adventure cookbook at: https://smallkitchenbigflavors.blog/

Serves:  1- 2  as a main meal on top of salad greens or 4 as a small bite appetizer

Fresh Crab Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup  fresh lump crab

1 cup pico de gallo

fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

2 cups chopped green salad (for a main meal salad).

Salad dressing of choice (I made the vinaigrette and orange peel infused olive oil that follows):

Triple Citrus Vinaigrette  

I prepare this salad dressing and keep it in the refrigerator to use over a couple of weeks.

1 lime (zest only)

1 orange (zest only)

1 lemon (zest only)

1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar

1 1/2 cups olive oil, good quality

Directions

1. Rinse and dry the citrus.
2. Remove the zest (no white pith) of each of the citrus using a rasp, grater or paring knife.
3. Pour vinegar into a blender, add citrus peel and process on medium speed for 20 seconds.
4. Let mixture rest for a minute then strain the liquid using a cheesecloth.
5. Pour infused vinegar back into the white wine vinegar bottle, apply bottle cap, refrigerate and enjoy over the next 2 weeks.  Combine infused vinegar with olive oil or infused olive oil to make a vinaigrette.

Orange Peel infused Olive oil

Ingredients

2 oranges (zest only)

1 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Rinse citrus and pat dry.
2. Remove zest from the oranges (no white pith).
3. Pour olive oil into a small saucepan and add the orange zest.
4. Heat on low heat for 10 minutes.  Do not allow the oil to boil.
5. Take the saucepan off heat and allow the mixture to cool.
6. Pour the infused cooled oil into a clean ball jar or other covered container.
7. Enjoy the oil over the next couple of weeks.

Pico de Gallo  (store bought or recipe as follows):

2  roma tomatoes (seeded) medium diced

1/3 tsp  sweet and onion and jalapeno fine diced

To make the vinaigrette for the crab, combine the infused vinegar and oil in a 50/50 ratio and ground salt and pepper to taste.

Appetizer:  Place 1 ounce of pico de gallo in a 2 oz. serving container, drizzle with 1/2 tsp. of vinaigrette.  Top the pico de gallo with fresh lumb crab and drizzle again with a 1/2 – 1 tsp. of the vinaigrette.

Main dish:  Place 1 1/2 – 2 cups of salad greens on a dinner plate or in a bowl.  Drizzle vinaigrette as desired over the greens.  Top with pico de gallo and 1/2 cup of fresh lump crab.

Note:  Costco sell fresh lump crab in the freshly prepared coolers.