This salad has several elements that complement each other perfectly sweet, juicy, creamy, crunchy and most importantly fresh.
There are probably some scary ingredients and items you've never used or heard of but don't let that scare you. I know most people will buy already pasteurized crab meat but it's simple and more rewarding to pickle your own fresh crab. Pomelo is a sweeter grape fruit with incredible thick skin/pith and contains white citrus jewels, commonly imported from Thailand and other Asian countries. Kohlrabi is a member of the turnip family and used in Germany and eastern European regions it has a crunchy sweet flavour that taste like a hybrid of apple and red cabbage. The horseradish and wasabi adds a little sneeze and kick. The frisee and parsley are the savoury that rounds the salad off. There's a process and some patience that is required to pull off a good crab salad. Go to the local fishmongers buy some good quality EXPENSIVE white crab meat and educate your mind and sensors.
200g fresh white crab meat
1 large kohlrabi
1 pomelo
3 tablespoons finely grated horseradish
1 small frisee washed and leaves roughly separated
Small handful of curly parsley finely chopped plus a little extra for the dressing
PICKLING LIQUID:
1 lemon juiced
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
100ml water
100g sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 peppercorns
1 bay leave
1 clove garlic thinly sliced
1 dried red chilli roughly chopped
DRESSING:
150ml double cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon wasabi
Good pinch of sea salt
METHOD:
First make the pickling liquid place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and place on a high heat and bring to the boil and cook for around 3-4 minutes till the sugar has dissolved and you have a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and strain the liquid and leave to cool, discard the infusing spices.
In a small mixing bowl or container place the horseradish and in another bowl place the crab meat, spoon about 4 tablespoons of the pickling liquid over the horseradish give a little stir together and set aside for later.
Add the remainder of the liquid to the crab meat and roughly combine together, cover the crab and place in the coldest part of your fridge for 2 hours to pickle.
With the pomelo cut off the top and bottom of the thick skin and pith then using a small sharp knife cut a 1cm mark at the top using hands peel the skin and pith away, use the knife only to cut out the more difficult pithy areas of the fruit. Once the skin and pith is removed separate the fruits segments like a clementine and put aside.
Peel the kohlrabi and cut off the top and bottom then cut down the middle and slice into very thin half circles, place in bowl with horseradish and mix together till roughly combined.
To make the dressing place the lemon juice, wasabi, salt and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley in a small mixing bowl and stir together till the wasabi has dissolved into the lemon then pour in the cream and combine together this will thicken the cream creating a natural sour cream dressing.
Now its time to bring all the elements together to create the salad, on a large serving platter lay out half of the frisee followed by half the sliced kohlrabi evenly distributed over the frisee. Then using your hands carefully break up several of the pomelo segments and scatter round the salad afterwards gently distribute half the picked crab meat over the salad. Using a tablespoon drizzle small thin streams of the dressing over the salad (don't add too much as you'll lose the flavour of the other ingredients) then garnish with a sprinkling of parsley. Repeat the layer once more and your salad is ready and I recommend you serve it immediately to enjoy the benefits of a fresh crab salad.
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