Crab and artichoke salad

I think composed salads are always attractive and fun to eat. But do they have to be done on a bed of lettuce? I don’t see why. This one got started with the observation that crab and artichokes just seem to go well together. Add tomatoes, hard-cooked eggs, and avocado and you’ve got the makings of a really good salad.

For the crab, I like the lump crab meat that comes refrigerated–I think that is the best you can get, short of using fresh crabs, of course. While I often use and like canned artichoke hearts, frozen artichokes seemed the better choice for this salad. Any type of tomatoes could be used, large tomatoes cut into wedges or smaller pieces, cherry or grape tomatoes. I used mini heirloom tomatoes which are both tasty and, since they come in multiple colors, add visual variety to the salad. The dressing is my standard, go-to vinaigrette.

crab meat
frozen artichoke hearts
tomatoes
1–2 eggs
avocado
lemon wedges

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence
fresh ground pepper

To allow some time to cool, cook the artichokes and eggs at least an hour before serving the salad. Put the frozen artichoke hearts in a pan with water, bring to the boil, simmer about 3 minutes, and drain. Put the eggs in cold water, bring to the simmer and cook for 12 minutes. Run cold water into the pan to stop the cooking and start the cooling.

To serve, arrange the ingredients on the plate–the crab, artichoke hearts, tomatoes cut into appropriately sized pieces, the hard-cooked eggs cut in quarters lengthwise, and the avocado slices.

Whisk or shake in a small jar the oil, vinegar, mustard, and spices. Spoon the dressing over the artichokes, tomatoes, and avocado. Add lemon wedges for the crab.