Subtly Spicy Crab Salad with Avocado and Finger Limes, Served Three Ways

As an elegant appetizer ...

An adorable amuse ...

Or homestyle, the way it's likely to be served Chez Trix

Don't you just love it when you're stuck in a dreary coking rut and then an inspiring food item appears in your greedy little hands, unbidden?  I can't think of a better surprise, and that's exactly what happened to me not once, but twice last week. I am not superstitious as a rule, but I think I had no choice but to take this as a sign from the culinary gods (or devils, as the case may be) to get cooking already. And so I did.

The first occurrence of divine ingredient intervention occurred when one of Poppa Trix's co-workers gave him some finger limes to bring home for me. (I am saving the other instance for a future post.) Turns out said co-worker actually reads little old Trix, and thought I would put them to good use. I hope I have not disappointed here!

Finger limes come from Australia, and if you're not familiar with them (they are hard to get in these parts) imagine limes about the size of your thumb, filled with little caviar like spheres of citrus that pop in your mouth when you bite down:

It's like candy for grown ups.

Citrus and shellfish are a natural pairing, so I decided to make a crab salad. But not just any crab: Chesapeake Blue Crab, some of the sweetest and most succulent crab there is. You could certainly substitue other high-quality crabs, like Dungeness for example, but imitation crab is NOT acceptable. I am sorry to be so strict, but there it is. Imitation crab isn't crab after all ... as its name implies, it is imitation. And while that may be the sincerest form of flattery, as far as this salad goes it is also the purest form of yuk.

Normally I am a three alarm kind of gal when it comes to heat, but I gave this salad a gentle heat - gentle because I definitely didn't want to overpower my delicate crab meat.  And, because I couldn't decide how I wanted to plate it, I did it three ways, as you can see in the photos above. This would be a great dish to serve at a dinner party - the crab may be expensive, but if you serve it as an appetizer or amuse bouche, it will go a long way.

Subtly Spicy Crab Salad

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat

1/2 red pepper, small dice

stalks of 3 green onions, sliced in rings

4 tablespoons mayonaisse

1 tablespoon lemon juice

juice of 1/2 lime

3 tablespoons orange juice

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Matouk's)

1 avocado, diced and sprinkled with lime juice

1/4 red onion, small dice

a few handfulls of arugula

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

3-4 finger limes

salt and pepper to taste

Gently fold together the crab, red pepper, and green onion. Set aside. Whisk together the next 7 ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the crab mixture and gently fold in until the crab is just coated with the sauce. Toss the avocado and the onion together. Now it's time to plate! If you'd like an amuse, simply place a few pieces of avocado on an appetizer spoon and top with a bit of crab and finger lime caviar. If you're serving this as an appetizer, put a swipe of sauce on a plate and, using a ring mold, lay down avocado, then crab, then finger limes:

Or, if it's just you and the S.O. and you're not trying to impress anyone, lay a nice pile of avocado, crab, and finger limes on a bed of arugula that you've lightly tossed with olive oil, and chow down:

Having eaten everything you see here, I can tell you that all three versions are equally delicious. There's sweetness, heat, umami, and that fun little pop! of tangy citrus from the finger lime caviar to finish it all off. Thank you Poppa Trix's co-worker - I hope I have inspired you in turn.