Happy Labor Day! I hope you are having a relaxing and fun holiday weekend with your loved ones. I am obsessed with the refreshing salads at The Ivy Restaurant, so today I am sharing with you one of my own favorites that I like to make at home. This is a simple, fun and healthy recipe that is perfect for a light dinner or lunch.
For the salad:
1 head of butter lettuce (I use Living Butter Lettuce when available). You can use Mesclun Greens as a substitute if butter lettuce is unavailable.
About 5 loose red and yellow beets
1 cucumber
2 to 3 heirloom tomatoes
1 to 2 avocados
1 small bunch fresh basil (thinly sliced)
1 lb. fresh crab (in the shell)
For the dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chardonnay or champagne vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. chopped shallots or garlic
fresh or dried herbs (I used 1/2 tsp. each of thyme and oregano)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
freshly ground pepper
**Use organic ingredients when possible.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the beets and trim off the tops. Top them with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and place them in an oven safe pan with a lid. Roast for about one hour or until the beets are very soft and can be easily punctured with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool. You can cook the beets ahead of time if desired.
Rinse off the crab and remove from the shell. Ask the person at your fish counter to crack the shells open ahead of time as the shells will be really hard to crack on your own!
When the beets are cooled off take a wet paper towel and rub it along the skin to remove. The skin will immediately slide right off. Wear rubber gloves if you are worried about staining your hands :). Chop up the avocado, tomatoes, cucumber and beets into 1/2 inch bites. Wash and chop your lettuce and basil and let dry.
Place the shallots or garlic in your blender and chop. Add the remaining dressing ingredients and blend until the dressing is smooth. Toss the salad with the dressing and plate it. Top the salad with the avocado, tomatoes, beets and cucumber. Add the crab and thinly chopped basil as a garnish and serve immediately!
Makes 3 entrée size servings or 5 appetizer servings.
Thank you so much for reading! Let me know how you like the recipe.
xoxo,
Lisa
yummy this looks delicious
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Author
Thank you Michele! I hope you get a chance to try it. 🙂
Looks delicious!!! The dressing is close to my staple when fresh herbs are available. I use more dijon and less oil to save some calories, and add a smidgen of agave nectar for sweetness. Try it with white balsamic vinegar too. A great source for fresh crab is http://www.great-alaska-seafood.com/, especially when they offer a sale on the broken pieces which are perfect for salad and cioppino.
Author
Thank Susan! I will check out that crab source!