I’ve been following along with French Fridays with Dorie for the past month, but even with ingredients purchased and several of the recipes made, I have just not had the time to post them!
I’ve been spending most of my entire weekends in the garden, first digging up everything and then replanting and this week, the dreaded task of weeding. I think by Fall I should have the garden and lawn looking just right- just in time for the snow to reappear! So as I am short on indoor time, I am glad this week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was a very simple crab salad with avocado.
I have a confession- I used imitation crab. I know, the horror! Well, it actually does have some crab in it, so I guess it’s not totally fake. I bought a large bag and made “crab” cakes with it as well.
This recipe came at the perfect time. Last weekend, I was away at Eat, Write, Retreat – a blog conference- in Philadelphia (another post about that soon). One of the sponsors was California Avocado and I came home with a bag of one of my favorite “fruits”. After an avocado inspired menu at the Philly restaurant, Supper, I’ve been enjoying avocado toast and guacamole all week long here at home. So with one of the last three I have, I made this so called “ravioli” which is really more like a sandwich as there is no pasta involved.
I just happened to also bring home an OXO Good Grips Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer. I’ve been wanting an OXO Mandoline for ages. I have the big metal Bron version, but it is a pain to clean and it simply terrifies me as we don’t have a guard for it. As soon as it’s on the counter, my reflex is to pull my fingers into a tight fist. With the OXO slicer, there is a guard and I can tell you it’s so simple to use (I’ve used it every day this week!). I think it’s life changing, really! It also did the trick with this dish. The avocado sliced very thin and was the perfect vehicle for the crab salad.
Made with shallots, fresh lime, cilantro and fleur de sel and pepper, this light crab salad was very refreshing and would be a perfect small appetizer or passed hors d’oeuvres. I suppose if you wanted more crab salad, you could also serve a larger portion with slices of avocado on the side.
One ingredient that I swapped out was the walnut oil the recipe called for. I just used EVOO and don’t think I missed any nutty complex that the walnut oil would have given.
Overall, this recipe was a success but unless I am having guests, I don’t think it will make it into the repertoire of dishes I make frequently.
For details on creating these recipes, check out the FFWD site and see others who are also cooking the book-
You can also buy the book here:
