Watermelon Crab Salad with Jalapeño, Cherry Tomatoes, Mache, Mint, and Lime Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 0 mins Serves: 2
Summer has come on strong, making the idea of turning on the oven and making the kitchen even hotter very unappealing. This crab salad will keep you and the kitchen cool on a warm evening. Use lump crab meat here, or anytime you use crab really. Claw meat isn’t as tender and has a much stronger flavor that most find unpleasant.
Jalapeño is low on the list of the world’s hottest peppers, but it can still be too spicy for some. To help with this, wear gloves and then remove the seeds and veins. Capsaicin, the active ingredient in peppers that gives them their heat, is mostly contained in the seeds and veins. Make sure you wear gloves for this though, as capsaicin can remain on your hands even after a thorough washing and any contact with your face will burn quite a bit.
Mache greens are a small tender green available at most farm markets. They are soft in texture with a nutty flavor and beautiful dark green color. They usually come with the root bundle still attached and a lot comes in a package. If you have a few extra plant pots hanging around, plant whatever you don’t use to come back to later. They do well in mixed sun and loose rich soil.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup lump crab meat
- 2 cups watermelon; cut into 1” cubes
- ½ cucumber; sliced into wide strips on a mandolin
- 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes; halved
- 1 jalapeño; veined, seeded, and sliced on a mandolin
- 1 cup mache greens
- ⅓ cup mint leaves
- ⅓ cup basil leaves
- ¼ cup lime zest
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Add lime juice to a blender and slowly drizzle in olive oil with the motor running. Season with salt and pepper to taste then set aside.
Toss mache greens, basil, and mint lightly in lime dressing. Plate your watermelon, tomatoes, and cucumber before adding your dressed greens. Lightly dress the crab meat and plate amongst the rest of your salad. Garnish with shaved jalapeño and lime zest then season lightly with salt and pepper.