Crab, Avocado, and Quinoa Timbale
By James Beard Award Winning Chef, Michelle Bernstein
Directions
Combine crabmeat, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine avocado, red onion, jalapeno, quinoa, cucumber, olive oil, lime juice, mint and season with salt and pepper.
Right before serving, place the molds on four separate plates. Begin filling each mold with the quinoa-avocado mixture; packing it in tight with a teaspoon, half the way up the mold; then fill the remaining half of the mold with four ounces of the crabmeat mixture. Note: It can be stored in the fridge, in the mold, up to 24 hours.
Unmold the timbale slowly. Drizzle with gazpacho vinaigrette before serving and use some of the reserved fennel tops as garnish.
Ingredients
Gazpacho Vinaigrette
2 red tomatoes, peeled and seeded, chopped
½ fennel bulb, chopped, reserve fennel tops (looks like dill)
½ red onion, peeled, chopped
1 garlic clove
1 cucumber, peeled, chopped
2 cups tomato juice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar Cold water, set-aside just in case
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth. Keep cool
Timbale
16 ounces Blue Star Foods jumbo lump crabmeat, drained well, patted dry & picked over for shells
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
1 Haas avocado, peeled, seeded, chopped
½ red onion, peeled, minced
¼ jalapeno, seeded, minced
1 cup quinoa, cook in boiling water (like pasta) for 6-8 minutes or until tender
Note: Strain, spread out & cool on a baking sheet (can use couscous instead!)
½ cucumber, peeled, diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
4 round ring molds about 2” x 3”