Perfect salads for a winter crab feed

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Looking for ways to indulge in one of winter’s most delectable culinary gifts?

My hands-down favorite way to enjoy Dungeness crab is straight out of a crab pot where it’s been boiled just long enough to cook the juicy, tender morsels of meat locked inside that crusty hard-shell e

xterior.

So a crab feed it is! I usually support such simplicity with an equally simple set of side dishes. A big ol’ crunchy green salad, for example, chock-full of fresh veggies and a zesty dressing.

Or, sometimes, a richly flavored coleslaw, layered with other Pacific Northwe

st delights, such as toasted hazelnuts and smoky bacon.

Something like that, along with some fresh artisan bread and you’re set.

This first recipe is from my new cookbook, “Oregon Hazelnut Country — the Food, the Drink, the Spirit.”

It’s so easy to assemble at the last minute and stands up well on a buffet table.

Roasted hazelnut slaw
8 slices thick-cut smoked pepper bacon, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup Rogue Toasted Hazelnut Brown Nectar (or another amber or brown nut ale)
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded to measure 5 to 6 cups
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 cup chopped roasted and skinned hazelnuts
Salt
Black pepper

Place the bacon in a medium saute pan and cook over medium heat until crispy, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel to drain. Add the garlic and onion to the pan and saute in the bacon grease over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and ale and cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook just until wilted, but still slightly crunchy, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the wine vinegar, olive oil, thyme, and hazelnuts and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss in the reserved bacon (crumble it first) and keep warm until ready to use.

Makes servings for 4.

Over the years, I’ve found that it’s the simple little twists that turn a hum drum coleslaw into an extraordinary one. This is one such slaw. It has its roots in Portland where chef Cory Schreiber introduced it at his famous eatery, Wildwood.

Wildwood’s coleslaw
1 small head Savoy cabbage (Napa cabbage is a decent substitute)
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 small red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted and coarsely ground (see note below)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Halve the cabbage lengthwise and cut out the core. Cut the cabbage into thin crosswise slices. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, onion, and parsley. In a small bowl, blend the mayonnaise, vinegar, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Add to the cabbage mixture and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The salad will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Note on toasted fennel seeds: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the desired amount of seeds in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they begin to darken in color, occasionally shaking the pan so the seeds will toast evenly. Remove the seeds from the oven and pour them onto a cool pan. To coarsely grind, put them in a spice mill and grind just until broken up and barely turning to powder.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from “Wildwood, Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest,” by Cory Schreiber

This salad is simply delectable. Just the right amount of whang. And so wonderful with fresh crab.

Slaw Bernoise
6 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups finely chopped celery
1/2 pound (about 2 cups) Emmenthal or other fine-quality Swiss cheese, cut into julienne strips
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, celery and cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar and mustard until well blended. Whisk in the oil then pour the dressing over the salad mixture, tossing well to completely coat the ingredients with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill well before serving. Adjust flavorings before serving, adding splashes of lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard as needed. To serve, garnish with coarsely chopped eggs.

Makes about 8 to 10 servings.

Adapted from “Greene on Greens,” by Bert Greene

Everything clicks in this mixture, as long as you select apples with exceptional flavor and crispness. And among the things it goes wonderfully with is Dungeness crab. It’s another salad from “Oregon Hazelnut Country.”

Salad of Fuji apples, baby greens and toasted hazelnuts
5-6 cups of mixed greens, including hearts of romaine leaves (the light green, crisp inner portion of a head of Romaine lettuce), and baby arugula
2 to 3 flavorful apples (such as Braeburn, Fuji, or Honeycrisp), peeled, and cored, then sliced as described below
Scant 1 cup of crumbled blue cheese
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted and skinned hazelnuts
Balsamic vinaigrette with sweet honey nustard (recipe follows)

To prepare the peeled and cored apples, cut each half into 1/4-inch thick slices, then cut each slice into thirds. Place the apples in a small bowl and toss with enough of the vinaigrette to coat the pieces. You can prepare the apple mixture up to an hour ahead. If you coat the apples with the dressing any longer than that they will absorb too much of the vinaigrette, which overwhelms the apple flavor

To serve: Arrange the mixed greens on individual salad plates. Divide the apple mixture among the salads. Top each serving with a portion of the cheese and then a portion of the hazelnuts. Drizzle an extra bit of the vinaigrette over the greens and around the edges of the salad.

Alternatively: You could substitute Feta or Cheddar cheese for the blue cheese. Another serving option would be to assemble the entire salad on a large platter instead of individual salad plates.

Makes servings for 4 to 6.

I designed this vinaigrette to go with the salad of Fuji apples, baby greens and roasted hazelnuts.

It’s also a wonderful dressing to have on hand for any number of your winter salads incorporating fresh greens, fruits, and nuts.

The hint of vanilla gives it a lovely toasty quality that compliments the nuts and some cheeses, such as cheddar, feta, blue cheese and provolone. Even shavings of a good-quality Swiss or extra-aged Gouda would work.

Balsamic vinaigrette with sweet honey mustard and hazelnut oil
1/2 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Sweet Honey Mustard (I use the Inglehoffer brand made by Beaverton Foods)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup hazelnut oil (if available)
1/3 cup canola oil

In a container, whisk together the vinegars, sugar, mustard, salt, and vanilla, then whisk in the oils.

Note: If you have trouble finding the hazelnut oil, or you don’t want to invest in the expense, simply use all canola oil.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.