Everything about Tyler Florence’s new book, Fresh, completely lives up to its name. The photographs, the type, the layout and the recipes are so clean. Recipes like Seared Halibut with Crushed Watermelon Gazpacho and Lime, or Octopus with Aioli, Lemon Crushed Potatoes and Fried Capers show Florence’s ability to balance sweet with sour, savory with fresh. His recipes are layered, requiring you make several separate components and combine them when plating. I think that’s what makes this book so fun; it’s not a collection of restaurant recipes watered down for home cooks. This book is for home cooks who wish they were chefs.
I made Dungeness Crab with Greek Yogurt, Cucumber, Tomato and Mint. It’s a super-light crab salad that turned out to be a nice mix of summer flavors. The plating instructions are a bit confusing; the ingredients are dressed together in a bowl, then reassembled one at a time on the plate. The mint (I added a bit of cilantro, too.) and the extra-virgin olive oil added at the end gave a clean finish to each bite.
Dungeness Crab with Greek Yogurt, Cucumber, Tomato and Mint Serves 4
2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water to cover
2 lemon slices
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
Olive oil, for shallow frying
4 plum tomatoes
1 lb. jumbo lump Dungeness crab meat (I used jumbo lump blue crabmeat.)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Persian cucumbers
Fresh mint, for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Paprika, for garnish
• Drain the chickpeas and place in a medium pot with the lemon, the bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add water to cover at least 2 to 3 inches.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer about 45 minutes, until tender. Drain the chickpeas and pat dry on paper towels.
• Heat ¼ inch of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat to about 325 degrees; a chickpea dropped into the oil should sizzle and dance. Add the chickpeas in batches and fry 3 to 5 minutes, until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels and season with salt while hot. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water.
• Make a small “x” incision in the bottom of each tomato. Submerge them in the boiling water for 20 seconds until the skin starts to curl back from the cut. Remove with a strainer and transfer immediately to the bowl of ice water. Leave for 10 seconds, then drain. Peel off and discard the skins. Quarter and seed the tomatoes. Set aside.
• Pick through the crabmeat and discard any shell or cartilage.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice with the yogurt and stir well. Gently fold in the crabmeat and season with salt and pepper.
• Thinly slice the Persian cucumbers, then fold in the cucumbers and the tomatoes to dress lightly.
• Arrange the dressed tomatoes on 4 plates and top with chunks of crab. Top with the cucumber slices and fried chickpeas.
• Garnish with mint, drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
Reprinted with permission from Clarkson Potter Publishers. What’s your go-to summer salad to order when you dine out? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Fresh by Tyler Florence. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate Katie, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Franny’s: Simple Seasonal Italian. Katie, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in July 2013.
