4 ripe avocados
15 oz crab meat or
1 lb fresh crab meat
8 tb mayonnaise
4 to 6 drops worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely minced, peeled celery stalks
1 salt, depending on the saltiness of, the crab meat
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch cayenne or
1 drop to 2 drops tabasco
1 head iceberg lettuce
2 lemons
Directions
1. Split the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pits. With a
melon-ball cutter, gently enlarge the cavity toward the stem end.
2. With a fork, mash the avocado pulp which was removed.
3. Mix the pulp with 4 tbs. of the mayonnaise, salt if needed,
pepper and cayenne or Tabasco. Gently fold in the crab meat and the
celery.
4. Divide the crab mixture among the eight avocado halves.
5. Mix the Worcestershire sauce with the remaining 4 tbs.
mayonnaise. With a pastry bag or a cone made from wax paper, pipe
approximately 1/2 tbs. of the mayonnaise mixture on each filled
avocado half.
6. Remove the outside leaves of the iceberg lettuce. Arrange the
leaves on a serving platter. Cut the inside part of the lettuce into
very thin strips and make 8 small nests on the leaves lining the
serving platter. Place an avocado half on each nest.
7. Cut each lemon in quarters and garnish the serving platter with
the slices of lemon. Serve. If desired, offer additional mayonnaise
separately.
CHEF'S SECRET: When you buy avocados, they should not be soft but, if
pressed gently, should give about the same resist-ance as an orange.
Once at home, pack each avocado in a brown paper bag and leave them
at room temperature overnight. Of course, chill before serving.
If you use canned crab meat, it is advisable to pick it over.
Sometimes you may find a small piece of the shell. Definitely taste
it for saltiness. Certain brands improve with a quick rinsing with
water.
If you have to rinse it, don't do it under the faucet. Place the meat
in a sieve and dip the sieve in a small amount of water. Loosen the
meat with one finger, then remove the sieve from the water and shake
the meat dry. The flavor will not be destroyed, but the saltiness of
the canning liquid will be gone.
Enlarging the cavity of the avocados with a melon-ball cutter has two
purposes; you have the subtle taste of the pulp in the crab mixture,
and it is easier to arrange the filling without making it messy.
Definitely peel the celery stalks for this dish with a potato peeler
so that no strings get into the salad. The celery is needed for its
crunchy texture to counterbalance the softness of the avocado and
mayonnaise and the fleshy chewiness of the crab meat. If you do not
care for the taste of celery, you can substitute peeled, seeded,
finely chopped cucumber.
Makes 8 servings.
From "The Chef's Secret Cookbook", Louis Szathmary, Quadrangle Books,
Chicago. 1972.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 14 1993.
Servings: 8 servings
Avocado With Crab Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Crab; Fish; Fruit; Seafood
The History of Recipes
It is possible to track the history of meal recipes back into history, at least as far into history as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these early records were just very basic pictorial recipes for meal preparation.
In fact, the oldest recipe in existence, according to food historians are some stone tablets in the Sumerian language describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Later, there are some recipe books which date from the 14th Century : a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these are not about the spicy food that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of food enjoyed by the rich and powerful. Later on in the 1400s, the Crusaders brought back many spices and herbs from Arab countries, including basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs prompted an increase in cookery books, most of which are kept safe in private libraries. For the decades that followed, the wealthy families of the West competed to offer the most exotic banquets, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe books reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to collating, verifying, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the time we get to the 20th century, cooking books were in great demand, mostly due to more people being able to read, people having more leisure time and having more money to spend. The arrival of television brought us TV cookery programs and the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everyone to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Avocado With Crab recipe.
