Seafood salad is always a hit when hosting a dinner party. This crab salad features chunks of juicy, ripe mango, and a lightly seasoned dressing that brings out the flavors of the main ingredients. Cucumber adds a bit of crunch. It's an easy appetizer or first course to make, and you can (and should!) whip up this salad several hours ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until serving time.
Choose crab meat that is in season, and comes in large chunks. Pick over the crab carefully before putting the salad together to look for any stray bits of shell that might remain.
To serve this salad at a sit-down dinner, line a small salad plate with your favorite variety of lettuce leaves or salad greens. Pile a generous scoop of the crab and mango salad in the center and drizzle with the dressing. You can dress the plate up further with a sprig of fresh herbs, or curled lime zest.
To make the salad into an appetizer, spoon small portions into the "scoop" end of fresh endive leaves and top with a drizzle of the dressing. You could also mix the dressing with the salad and serve it in a pretty bowl along with thick wedges of hearty bread. Guests can spoon the salad onto the bread themselves to create a delicious finger food.
I've served this salad at bridal and baby showers, spooned onto croissant halves lined with lettuce leaves. It's pretty and somewhat dainty served this way, and the salad makes a wonderful and fancy sandwich filling.
Crab and Mango Salad
- 1 pound white crab meat (in chunks)
- 1 cup mango, cut into 1/4-inch chunks
- 1/2 cup cucumber, seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
- 1/2 cup frozen mango juice concentrate, thawed (you can use a mango juice blend if desired)
- 2 tablespoons salad oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- juice of 2 limes
To make the salad, combine crab meat, mango, cucumber, and chives in a large bowl. Mix well; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the dressing, mix mango juice, oil, vinegar, and lime juice in a small bowl or salad shaker. Whisk or shake well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve salad as directed above. Makes about 6 servings.
Note: To add a different flavor to this salad, you can add herbs or spices to the dressing. Try 1/2 teaspoon curry or dried ginger, or 1-2 teaspoons fresh chopped cilantro.
