Santa Barbara Red Rock Crab Salad

difficulty:Hard

prep time:30 mins

cooking time:18 mins

perfect wines:Sauvignon Blanc

Pascale is devoted to the fusion arts of California-Mediterranean cuisine who lives in Santa Barbara. Working directly with local fishermen, Pascale and her friend came up with salad together. The avocado vinaigrette is buttery and works wonders with the crab and fennel.

Serves 8 people

Ingredients

For the crab

16 crab claws
1 lemon - cut into 8 wedges

For the vinaigrette

1/4 c olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or Champagne vinegar
1 avocade - peeled and the meat scooped out
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

For the fennel salad

2 whole fennel bulbs cut in half legthwise and very thinly sliced
1 lemon - zested and then quartered
1 tbsp fresh dill - finely chopped
1 small green apple - cored and very thinly sliced
1 tbsp chives - finely chopped
Flake salt

Instructions

Steam the crab claws for 15-18 minutes.
Place some newspaper in the counter or table. Remove the crab claws from the steamer and place on the newspaper. Lay each claw flat on the paper. Hold the claw with a dishcloth and use a mallet to firmly crack open the shell. Extricate the crab meat.
For vinaigrette, pour the olive oil into a small bowl and whisk in the vinegar,
Add avocado meat and mash with a fork.
Add the lemon juice, parsley, salt, and 2-3 grinds of pepper and whisk with the fork so that all the ingrediets form a homogeneous vinaigrette.
Place the fennel, lemon zest, dill, apples, and chives into a medium-sized bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.
To serve, place a spoonful of the fennel salad in the center of each plate, and then place the crab meat on the top.
Add a little salt and pepper, a sprinkling of freshly chopped chives, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and serve immediately.
Enjoy with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Cheers!

Find more of Pascale's recipes on her website or check out one of her cooking classes.

Candace L. ~

"Seriously! Can Zaca Mesa do any wrong? I love this place. It's no secret, they are my absolute favorite along Foxen Canyon and in this area in general. There's something about pulling into the driveway, parking your car and coming through their doors that makes you feel right at home."

Crystal A. ~

"Loved the tasting room and large patio area. Perfect for groups. They had a band setting up but we didn't stay. Looked like a fun place to hang out and picnic. Loved the wines and left with a few bottles."

Don B. ~

"Thanks so much for your hospitality yesterday at the tasting room as well as allowing my daughter to purchase wine with my wine club discount. She was thrilled and is a huge fan. She always insists on visiting Zaca Mesa when she is in town from Chicago."

Jan L. ~

"Thank you for providing much needed water and shade for hundreds of cyclists. Your kind generosity averted medical problems for many riders, including me, in the debilitating heat."

Juliet H. ~

"So after pinky swearing with my husband before our wine tasting trip that we absolutely would not join any more wine clubs, we are now members of the Zaca Mesa wine club after our visit here. Why? Great wines... Especially the white wines!

We tasted here in the middle of the week and the place was still fairly busy. [Cathy] which served us gave us plenty of her time and attention despite the crowd. She also gave us tastes of a couple of wines that were open but not on the tasting list including their Z blends. Everything was quite [good] but we were really impressed with the quality of their white wines, which is somewhat unusual in this area.

Lovely winery, friendly staff and good wines add up to a wonderful experience!"

Lauren D. ~

"Amazing wines, lovely staff- very informative, took time with each tasting, a highlight of our trip to the Santa Barbara wine region."

Martin A. ~

"My wife and I visited your tasting room Sunday as part of our 45th Anniversary celebration. We met many people during our trip visiting Los Olivos, but none came close to the warmth, caring and sincerity of your employee, Cathy. Many thanks."

Robyn B. ~

"We had our wedding at Zaca Mesa Winery and it was simply stunning. The venue is so beautiful we barely had to have any decor. Kori and her team are an absolute pleasure to work with and the delicious wine was a highlight for us and the guests. You can't go wrong at Zaca Mesa, trust us. Thank you ZM you'll be a special place for us forever."

Winery & Vineyards

2014 Black Bear Syrah - 93 pts. WE

Have a recipe you want to share with the world?