By Cal Stamenov, chef and culinary director,
Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley
Serves 6
Yuzu Vinaigrette
- Finely grated zest of 2 yuzu or limes
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, preferably Meyer
- 1 tablespoon yuzu or lime juice
- 3 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Make the vinaigrette first, so the acidity and flavors have time to mellow while you prepare the other components of the salad. Combine the zest, juices and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If you’re not using yuzu juice, increase the amount of lemon juice by 1 teaspoon to approximate the same acidity level, or add a teaspoon of tangerine juice. Set aside at room temperature.
Ginger Aioli
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ cup canola oil
- Kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste
Combine the ginger, lime juice, soy and egg yolk in a blender or small food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the oil in a thin, steady stream until the sauce thickens. The aioli should be the consistency of a creamy salad dressing such as ranch or Caesar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The aioli is meant to have high acidity to balance the sweetness of the crab and persimmon. Keep refrigerated while you proceed with the recipe; the aioli can be made 1 day in advance.
Dungeness Crab Salad with Persimmon Carpaccio
- 4 cooked Dungeness crabs, about 1½ pounds each
- 4 Kaffir lime leaves
- 4 strips candied yuzu, optional
- 3 ripe Hachiya persimmons
- ¼ cup microgreens or radish sprouts (garnish)
- 4 fresh chives (garnish)
Remove the 2 claws and the 4 largest (front) legs from each crab.For an artful presentation, the crabmeat should be in large pieces, so save the remaining, smaller crab legs and the meat from the bodies for another use (combine with unused Ginger Aioli, for instance). Cut off the small knuckles at the joint where they attach to the main claw; save these small pieces for another use. Using a wooden mallet or small hammer, very lightly tap the shells of the crab claws until they crack in several places, taking care not to smash the meat in the process. Bend each small pincer claw away from its larger counterpart until it snaps. Then, very gently twist it in order to release the tiny piece of crab inside the shell. Carefully extract the claw meat from the broken shells, hopefully with the pincer claws still attached. This can be tricky, so don’t worry if the tiny pincer meat does not release from the shell or breaks in the process.
Crab legs have many small sections and removing the meat in neat pieces can be difficult. Use only the largest segments, those closest to the body. Cut off the lower, smaller pieces at the first joint and save for another use. Tap the shells in the same manner as for the claws and carefully extract the fingers of meat. Each salad should have 6 whole pieces of crab.
Slice the Kaffir leaves into a very thin chiffonade, then cut the strips crosswise into a dice so finely that it resembles particles of salt (this step can’t be accomplished successfully in a food processor). Set aside. If using the candied yuzu, cut each strip into a very tiny dice; set aside.
Place the crab in a medium bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk the vinaigrette to re-emulsify it, then pour it over the crab. Add half of the Kaffir leaves and all of the candied yuzu to the bowl. Very gently blend the ingredients with a rubber spatula, taking care not to break the crab pieces.
Cut off and discard the top, stem end of the persimmons. Remove the skin from the fruit with a small, sharp knife or a vegetable peeler. Cut the persimmons crosswise into thin slices, 1⁄8- to ¼-inch thick. With Hachiya persimmons, the variety I recommend for this salad, it is best to slice them by hand as they are extremely soft when ripe. If you use Fuyu persimmons, you can slice them on a mandoline, if you wish, because this variety is firm when ripe. In any case, the slices should be no thinner than 1⁄8 inch or they will stick to the plate.
Use large, flat white or black dinner plates for the presentation to highlight the dramatic color of the persimmons. Place a dollop of Ginger Aioli in the center of each plate. Using the back of a spoon, spread the sauce into a 3-inch circle. Arrange 5 slices of persimmon on top of the sauce, overlapping each piece slightly to create a circle of fruit. The aioli will be covered, except for a small circle in the center. Keep the circle of fruit at least an inch away from the edge of the plate for the best effect. A band of empty plate centers and showcases your presentation.
Place 3 pieces of crab on top of the Persimmon Carpaccio in the center of the circle. Use any less than perfect pieces on the bottom. Top with 3 more fingers of crab, setting these at a 90-degree angle to the pieces on the bottom. Sprinkle just the crab meat with the remaining Kaffir leaves (you don’t want to spoil the pristine perfection of the persimmon slices). Top with a sprinkling of microgreens.
If you wish to further garnish the dish, cut a 3-inch length from the center section of a firm, medium-size chive. Hold the chive in the air, grasping the bottom half-inch of the stem. With a small, very sharp knife, cut the chive in half lengthwise, starting from the point above your fingers and moving up the stem. Turn the chive 90-degrees and slit again, so that chive falls into 4 thin ribbons, still attached at the bottom. Alternately, place the chive on a cutting board and carefully slit the stem in half lengthwise, leaving the bottom half-inch intact. Rotate the chive 90 degrees, and make a second lengthwise cut, so the stem is now slit into 4 thin lengths. Drape the chive over the top of the salad.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
