I have been cooking for over 50-years and I’m still searching for new recipes and trying different ideas based on old and new ones. Recently, while reading an old issue of Sunset Magazine, I saw an item I thought I’d like to try— Crab Salad Cups. These are finger friendly or you can serve on a salad plate with a main dish; and I tried it with Shrimp Salad and Tuna Salad— and it works just as well. I hope you will enjoy serving this festive-looking dish to your guests in addition to making it for yourselves. This is a fine summer recipe.
Crab Salad Cups (Makes 8-10)
You will need:
- 1 head Baby Lettuce (each leaf makes a great “cup”)
- 1 lb. Crab Salad (with or without black olives) or substitute another “fish” salad
- 1 Avocado, cut into thin slices
- 1 Lemon, sliced into small wedges
- Seafood Cocktail Sauce (recipe below)
- Sprinkles of black pepper, salt, parsley flakes and paprika (optional)
- Wash lettuce leaves, pat dry and arrange on a large platter.
- Place 2-3 tablespoons of salad onto center of each leaf.
- Top each with a slice of avocado (on one side of salad), a wedge of lemon (on the other side), and a small amount of Cocktail Sauce in the middle.
- Accept all the oohs and aahs and enjoy!
Make your own Seafood Cocktail Sauce by mixing 3 Tablespoons of Ketchup and 1 Tablespoon of Creamed Horseradish. If you don’t like it so hot, add more Ketchup.
My next venture was to try this dish with Chicken Salad, but I substituted a tomato wedge instead of the lemon and instead of the Cocktail Sauce, put a large green olive in the center of the salad. Include the avocado slice and this is a perfect dish to serve your friends for lunch with an iced glass of lemonade or tea.
Optional: Serve breadsticks in a large cup in the center of the table or several kinds of crackers as an accompaniment.
Original ChopShop is making its Tucson debut this summer
