a food blog . ..also, avacado mousse with crab

by brendan on August 8, 2006

so i was thinking that one of the reasons i had such a tough time posting to my blog is that i really don’t feel like the daily minutae of my life needs to be documented – i need blog about something i actually love talking about – so i thought about it, and came us with food! i find that i have no trouble posting to the group site i am a contributer too (www.pleasureproviderclub.com) with regularity, since it is all about food, eating out, etc. so i think i will try to do some of that here too. there may still be some random musings about non-food subjects too, but i see this more and more morphing into a food blog. . .

to start, i am positng this crab and avacado mousse recipe, it’s pretty easy to make and has a pretty big ‘wow’ factor. i got the recipe from the chronicles food section, and it was created by Victor Scargle (to read the full article, click here, which i must say, always has great recipes. i have been substituting poached salmon which i let come to room temperature, since ewa is pregnant and can’t do shellfish. also, i always put the plates i am serving on in the freezer a few hours before (a la a good tar tar) to get them nice and chilled. if you need to get food forms for mousse, i got mine at sur la table (after going to william sonoma, who didnt have any)- also, you can just go to the hardware store and get then to cut PVC pipe – anything between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches in diameter would work. enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

Crab:
18 ounces Dungeness crabmeat
1 bunch chives, chopped
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Avocado Mousse:
2 avocados (about 6 ounces each), pitted and peeled
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 Roma tomato, cut into small dice
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Citrus Salad:
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 tangerine
1 Meyer lemon
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
1/2 cup micro cilantro, or regular cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS:

To prepare the crab: Drain crabmeat and squeeze out excess liquid. Pick through the meat to remove bits of shell; leave claws and large leg segments intact if possible. Toss the crab with the chives, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

To prepare the mousse: Using a food processor, puree the avocados with the lime juice and Tabasco. Use a rubber spatula to transfer puree to a bowl. Fold in the tomato, onion and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

To prepare the citrus salad: Slice off the ends of the grapefruit and then the rest of the peel, including the pith and thin white outer membrane covering the flesh. Remove grapefruit segments by cutting between the membranes with a paring knife. Work over a bowl to catch the juices. Set the sections and membranes aside. Repeat with the tangerine and lemon. Squeeze the excess juice from the membranes into the bowl, discard the membranes, and pour the juices into a skillet.

Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Whisk the reduced juices to blend, then slowly whisk in the grapeseed oil until the dressing has emulsified. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

To serve: Place the ring mold or can on a salad plate. Fill the mold about one-third of the way up with the avocado mousse. Smooth surface with the back of a spoon. Place one-sixth of the crab mixture on top of the avocado mousse and press firmly. Remove the cutter or can carefully and repeat for each additional plate.

Toss the cilantro with the citrus sections and any juices that have accumulated, and place on the plate next to the crab and avocado, dividing the mixture evenly among the plates. Drizzle the citrus reduction on the plates and serve.

Serves 6

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