Crab and Avocado Tostadas

Courtesy of Discover California Wines

I absolutely love crab, but I find myself always defaulting to making crab cakes so this time I wanted to try something different. We absolutely love Mexican in my house so when I found this crab and avocado tostada, I was so excited to try. For the crab, I buy Phillips seafood premium lump crab. I prefer lump crab as it tends to have zero shells and has a much more sweet, buttery taste than backfin/ claw meat. For the homemade salsa, I added lemon zest, half a lime, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. I kept the avocado mash separate from the salsa until plating, but you could also incorporate the two together as the recipe states. I bought premade tostada shells to cut back on time, but you could easily make them at home if you're feeling adventurous. I decided last minute to use some frozen corn I had in the freezer and quickly sauteed it on the stove top with salt, pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika and half a lime. To prepare the crab, I sauteed it on the stove top with 2 tbsp of salted butter and 1 tbsp of old bay until it was broken down and warmed through. I topped the tostada with Mexican crema (sour cream is just as good in my opinion), cilantro, and our favorite Herdez chipotle salsa.

Ingredients:

2⁄3 cup (130 g) finely diced tomato

1⁄3 cup (40 g) finely minced green onion, white and

pale green part only

1⁄4 cup (10 g) chopped fresh cilantro, plus whole leaves for garnish

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 serrano chile, finely minced

2 large, ripe avocados

2 limes, 1 halved, 1 quartered

Kosher or sea salt

8 corn tostada shells, about 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter

1 head pale, crisp romaine lettuce, about 6 ounces (185 g), halved lengthwise, then very thinly sliced crosswise

1⁄2 pound (250 g) Dungeness crabmeat

1⁄3 cup (75 g) crema (Mexican-style sour cream)

Mexican-style hot sauce or Tabasco sauce, for serving (optional)

Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the tomato, green onion, chopped cilantro, garlic, and as much of the minced chile as you like. Halve and pit the avocados, then scoop the flesh from the skin and add to the bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1∕2 lime over the avocado. Using a fork, mash the avocado coarsely, incorporating the other ingredients in the bowl as you work. Season with salt and add more juice from the other 1∕2 lime as needed to achieve a guacamole with good flavor.

Step 2: Top the tostada shells with the guacamole, dividing it evenly and spreading it to the edges. Top each tostada with the romaine and then with the crab, dividing them evenly. Drizzle each tostada with 2 teaspoons crema. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve immediately with the lime wedges and with the hot sauce, if desired.