We had this pretty lil pink salad a few weeks ago for Valentine’s day, and considering where we are today, that honestly feels like it was ages and ages ago. Since we’re all social distancing and most grocery stores don’t have a huge selection of produce available, let alone something as specific as pink radicchio, feel free to use whatever lettuce or leafy thing you can get ahold of. I certainly don’t recommend anyone go out in search of pink radicchio during a pandemic.
So this past winter, when things were normal, I was on the hunt for pink lettuce. I saw a photo of some and pretty much bothered Ry about it for months. I just so happened to find some mid February over at Iovine’s Produce, so I figured why not have it for our Valentine’s day dinner. We had some steaks, potatoes and asparagus too, but the salad was the main attraction. I mean, look at her.
The dressing for this is very similar to my standard caesar dressing (it was one of my firsts posts on here). I subbed in blood orange for the lemon, cause we had it, plus I wanted to keep with the whole pink/red theme. Just use this recipe as a general framework and sub in whatever citrus you have, or can get ahold of. Same goes for the bread and crab, just use whatever bread and protein you want. Chicken, shrimp, canned tuna, boiled eggs, giant beans, go wild!
We had this pretty lil pink salad a few weeks ago for Valentine’s day, and considering where we are today, that honestly feels like it was ages and ages ago.
Pink Crab Caesar Salad
Ingredients
The Dressing
- 1 clove Garlic Crushed
- 1-2 Anchovies or a few Dashes of Worcestershire
- 1/2 Blood Orange juiced
- 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 C Olive Oil
- 1/4 C Parmesan Grated
The Croutons
- 2 C Pumpernickel Bread Torn Into Bite Sized Chunks.
- Olive Oil
The Rest of the Salad Stuff
- Parmigiano-Reggiano Shaving. As much as you want. I want a lot.
- 1-2 C Lump Crabmeat
- 1-2 heads Pink Radicchio
Instructions
- To make the dressing combine garlic, anchovy, blood orange juice and mustard into a food processor or blender. I typically use an immersion blender for this. You can also certainly just mix it all up in a bowl too, use what ya got. Drizzle in oil while blending, or whisking to get an emulsified dressing. Stir in your grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- To make the croutons arrange your torn bread chunks in a single layer on a sheet tray, toss with a generous drizzle of oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 300°F (150°C) till they are nice and crispy, tossing and testing for crispiness every 5 mins or so.
- When you’re ready to eat you can arrange your radicchio on a large chilled platter. Scatter generously with your crab meat, croutons and shave over plenty of Parmigiano. Drizzle over your dressing, some more fresh pepper and eat up!
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