KING CRAB COBB SALAD FROM TWO IF BY SEA

KING CRAB COBB SALAD
SERVES 4
The original Cobb was essentially a garden salad that was billed as a main dish. It included a bounty of novel ingredients that suddenly could be shipped by freight from far-flung agricultural areas. There were so many new and delicious tastes all together on one plate. Imagine how cool such a composition must have been at the time! I include a recipe here because bringing together so many great tastes and textures is still a cool thing—not to mention pretty damn delicious.

2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
Salt
Double recipe of Red Wine Vinaigrette (see below), divided use 2 heads Belgian endive or 1 head chicory, chopped
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
2 pounds king crab legs, shelled and cut into 1⁄2 -inch pieces
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 lemon, quartered
Freshly ground pepper-allspice

Season the tomatoes with salt and toss with half of the vinaigrette. Let marinate for 10 minutes.

Divide the endive, watercress, avocados, crabmeat, hard-boiled eggs, and lemon equally among 4 plates. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the salads and season with salt. Divide the marinated tomatoes among the salads and season with freshly ground pepper-allspice.

RED WINE VINAIGRETTE:
4 tablespoons whole grain mustard
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, grated
1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 (5-ounce) cans oil-packed U.S. albacore tuna or Alaska sockeye or pink salmon, drained and oil reserved
Salt

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and grated garlic in a small bowl. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil and reserved tuna oil. Season to taste with salt. Set aside.

TWO IF BY SEA: Delicious Sustainable Seafood

Barton Seaver’s Two if by Sea: Delicious, Sustainable, Seafood  highlights domestic seafood, seasonal cooking, and techniques of seafood cookery. For the seafood lover and aspiring seafood cook, this brings great seafood cooking home in easy to understand and executable recipes. Barton pairs simple cooking techniques with a vast knowledge of seafood for a fresh take on sustainable eating. The book seeks to reverse the order of operations in how we approach recipes and food shopping. Seaver encourages you go to the fish counter and buy the best quality seafood you can find (and afford), then choose from the beautifully photographed, easy-to-master techniques to fit that product and pair it with any of the book’s array of sides and accompaniments. This book is about helping the reader gain confidence in preparing and serving seafood at home.

An award winning Chef, Author, and Director of the Sustainable Seafood and Health Initiative at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Barton Seaver uses dinner as a means through which we can understand many things. This book may be read on simply an entertainment and culinary level, but to do so would miss the larger conversation. Two if by Sea and Barton’s work also represent a much broader and deeper story about the history, heritage and future of American fisheries and aquaculture as well as impacts on public health and the environment. He has gained deep knowledge of fisheries through his years as a chef, and time as an explorer with National Geographic and now living and working on the ragged coast of Maine. He tells the story of how fisheries and fish cookery represent culture and community. Seafood provides incredible opportunities and developing new economies, as we face challenging times in changing ecosystems. This is a particularly timely opportunity to speak about fisheries with the 40th Anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and its pending reauthorization. Seafood is more than a meal, it is a pillar of our economic health and environmental well-being.

Black Pepper Angel Pasta

Ingredients:
1 lb. Signature Kitchens Angel Hair Pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Pinch of Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced 

Directions:
Cook pasta per package instructions. Warm a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat; add butter and allow to melt. Add in cooked pasta and toss to coat. Add cheese, black pepper and salt. 

Divide between six bowls, garnish with parsley and serve.