Although I’m happy with my Polish culinary heritage—pierogi, kielbasa, golumpki—I’d be mendacity if I stated I wasn’t a bit jealous of the way in which the Italians eat. And there’s no time of yr after I’m extra envious than when the Feast of the Seven Fishes rolls round.
Each time I ask my Italian pals about this Christmas Eve seafood fest—in regards to the custom of sitting all the way down to a desk filled with what might embrace complete roasted fish, squid, lobster fra diavolo, shrimp scampi, anchovies, calamari, mussels, and octopus—they merely shrug it off, as if to indicate, “Yeah? So what? We eat a variety of good meals. What did you anticipate?”
So this yr, for only a style, I requested chef Ian Gresik of Los Angeles’ Drago Centro to ship alongside one among his favourite feast dishes from the entire shebang he serves at his restaurant across the holidays. His recipe for a recent crabmeat and arugula salad is refreshing, contemplating that menus this yr are inclined to skew heavy on the carbs and protein. Plus, the salad’s clear, shiny flavors act as the right solution to prime your palate for an enormous meal to observe.
One fish might not alleviate my envy of Italians through the holidays, however no less than it’ll tide me over till subsequent yr when my pals lastly invite me to feast. You hear that, pals?
Crab Salad with Arugula and Pomegranate Seeds
Recipe by Ian Gresik, chef of Drago Centro in Los Angeles, California
What you’ll want:
12 oz recent crabmeat
1/4 cup chopped crimson onion
1 small fennel bulb: 4 Tbsp chopped fennel fronds and 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced fennel, blanched*
Grated zest from one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
¾ cup child arugula
½ cup toasted pistachio nuts (optionally available)**
4 Tbsp pomegranate seeds
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to style
Methods to make it:
1. First, combine the crab combination. In a medium mixing bowl, add the crabmeat, onion, fennel fronds, lemon zest, and olive oil. Combine flippantly as to not break aside the crabmeat an excessive amount of. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.
2. Subsequent, mix the salad. In one other medium mixing bowl, toss the fennel, arugula, pomegranate, and pistachios with the balsamic vinegar.
3. Divide the arugula combination amongst 4 plates after which high every plate with equal parts of the crabmeat combination. Makes 4 servings.
*Blanching the fennel helps to damper the chew of the bulb barely and creates a extra balanced dish. To blanch, boil a pot of water, submerge the fennel slices and cook dinner till barely translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes. Then, shock the fennel in an ice bathtub, take away the fennel and put aside.
**To toast nuts, place them in a dry pan or skillet and set the warmth to medium-low. Heat, stirring often, till fragrant, about 5 minutes.
