Crab & Avocado Salad with Japanese dressing

Now that I can find good, fresh tubs of crab meat at the supermarket I can really rely on this as a table-and-tummy filler when I don't have much time for slow, store-by-specialist-store shopping.

The quantities below provide generous amounts for four people, so this is the sort of starter that you can use to save you coming up with enormous amounts later on in the evening.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• 2 x 15 ml tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste
• 1 x 15ml tablespoon rice vinegar
• Few drops sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 long red chilli pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
• 200g crab meat
• Approx. 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 150g rocket salad
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1-2 teaspoons chopped chives

Method

1. In a bowl that will take the crab meat later, whisk together the mirin, wasabi paste, rice vinegar, sesame oil and salt. Then remove about 4 teaspoons to another big bowl large enough to fit your salad.
2. To the first, more generous amount of dressing, add the finely chopped chilli and then the crab meat, and fork through to mix thoroughly.
3. To the small amount of dressing in the other bowl, add the lime juice and then the salad leaves and toss well to mix, before arranging on four plates.
4. Spoon a quarter of the mixture into a metal American 1/3-cup measure, or a small ramekin, squishing down to get it all in, then unmould in the centre of a salad-lined plate.
5. Just turn over, tap and the crab meat should fall out. Repeat with the remaining crab meat and the 3 other plates.
6. Using a rounded teaspoon measure, scoop out curls or humps of avocado and dot around on top of the salady bits. Spritz with a little lime juice.
7. Sprinkle the chopped chives over the mounds of crab and take the plates to the table.

Serves: 4

Recipe posted by Nigella

more cupcakes: Chocolate cherry

ADORO Nigella e ho trovato questa ricetta nel suo sito.... e mi è venuta voglia di condividerla:

The jam I use for these is the morello cherry preserve from Sainsbury's special selection; if you're using a less elegant, and probably sweeter confection, reduce the sugar in the cake a little. And if you have any Kirsch about the place, then add a splash to the batter and icing.

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

• 125g soft unsalted butter
• 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 300g morello cherry jam
• 150g caster sugar pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 150g self-raising flour
• 12-bun muffin tin and papers

FOR THE ICING:

• 100g dark chocolate
• 100ml double cream
• 12 natural-coloured glace cherries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.
2. Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt. When nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate. Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted. Now add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour.
3. Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
4. When the cupcakes are cool, break the chocolate for the icing into little pieces and add them to the cream in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and then whisk - by hand or electrically - till thick and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon, and stand a cherry in the centre of each.

Serves: Makes 12

Recipe posted by Nigella