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Spider Crab Salad
Fresh spider crab takes center stage in this crisp seafood salad. The dish makes smart use of the whole crab by turning the rich brown meat into a briny, savory dressing mixed with chopped capers and diced gherkins. Crisp Little Gem lettuce and thinly sliced fennel provide a crunchy base for the sweet white crab meat and quartered hard-boiled eggs. It makes an excellent light lunch or an elegant starter for a dinner party.
Ingredients
- 1 cock spider crab (about 1kg), cooked
- 4 small gherkins, finely diced
- 3 tbsp capers, rinsed, drained and roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Little Gem lettuce
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced, feathery fronds reserved
Instructions
- 1Carefully extract all the meat from the cooked spider crab. Keep the white meat and the brown meat in two separate bowls.
- 2Create the dressing by combining the brown crab meat, diced gherkins, and chopped capers in a mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture thoroughly, then slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil while continuing to whisk.
- 3Check the consistency of the dressing and stir in a splash of water if it needs to be thinned out. Taste and season with black pepper. The capers and gherkins usually provide enough salt, but you can adjust to your preference.
- 4Pull apart the Little Gem lettuce leaves and divide them among your serving plates. Slice the peeled hard-boiled eggs into quarters and place them over the greens along with the reserved white crab meat and thinly sliced fennel.
- 5Drizzle the brown crab dressing generously over each salad. Garnish with the reserved feathery fennel fronds and serve immediately.