Recipe: Crab Salad with Mango, Avocado and Tropical Fruit Puree (food processor)

CRAB SALAD WITH MANGO, AVOCADO AND TROPICAL FRUIT PUREE

FOR THE TROPICAL FRUIT PUREE:
1 small cantaloupe, peeled, seeds discarded
1/2 each fresh pineapple, peeled and cored
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
Sugar to taste
FOR THE CRAB SALAD:
2 cups jumbo crabmeat, carefully picked over
1 1/2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (nuoc nam)*
1/2 cup halved fresh avocado, with the pit removed
1/4 cup diced fresh mango

TO MAKE THE TROPICAL FRUIT PUREE:
Puree the melon in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pour the mixture into a medium-size bowl. Puree the pineapple and add it to the melon puree. Add lemon juice and mix the puree thoroughly.

Tie up the chopped cilantro in a 5-inch square of cheesecloth. Add the cilantro sachet to the puree. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour or overnight. Before serving, add a pinch of sugar if necessary.

TO MAKE THE CRAB SALAD:
Combine crabmeat, jalapeno, lemon juice, and fish sauce in a medium-size mixing bowl. Fold carefully with a rubber spatula to prevent breaking up the lumps of crabmeat.

Place a ring mold (or a round cookie cutter that is about 2 inches tall and 2 1/2 inches wide) on each of four chilled plates.

With a teaspoon, scoop 2 tablespoons of avocado from the shell and place at the bottom of the mold. Pack down lightly with the back of the spoon. Place 1 tablespoon of mango on top of the avocado, and press it down gently. Place a final layer of the crabmeat mixture and smooth off the top with the flat side of a knife. Lift the ring mold off carefully. Repeat this process on the remaining plates.

TO FINISH AND SERVE:
Ladle the tropical fruit puree around the edges of the crab mold and serve chilled.

*Available at Asian markets

Serves 4
by Patrick O'Connell
Source: Winning Styles Cookbook: Recipes from the James Beard Foundation Award Winning Chefs