Cold Crab Mini Tostada

Refreshing chunks of cold dungeness crab shine on a crispy mini tostada with avocado, tomatoes, olives, and a creamy chili sauce.

Yes, its crab season once again! Fresh cooked dungeness crabs are displayed at all the markets, and various organizations are hawking their annual crab feeds. I, myself, will be attending one for the animal rescue organization for which I foster dogs. It’s a limited season, so enjoy it while you can!

Personally, I do love crab…hot, cold, in a stuffing, in a sandwich, in a dip…I’m there. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be just cold cracked crab…cracking, picking, and glass of pinot grigio. So, I thought I’d do a cold appie with fresh crab. I wanted to keep it simple because I like to be able to taste and enjoy the sweet and delicate flavor of fresh, cold crab.  A mini crunchy tostada is the perfect dish to showcase the star of this bite.

I used the street taco size tortilla for these tostadas. And though they’re small, I was generous with the amount of crab per tostada because I figured with this type of appetizer, you’d be serving it to a handful of guests and not as a buffet item. Of course, to each his own, so if you want to make a bunch of these for a buffet, all I can say is…happy guests!

Makes 8 tostadas

Tostada:

• 2 cups fresh dungeness crab (from a 1.5 pound crab)
• 8 street taco size tortillas
• 1 avocado
• Handful of cherry tomatoes
• Handful of black olives
• Feta cheese for sprinkling

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice

Have your butcher clean the crab for you. It’s worth it. Pick apart the meat from the shell, place in a bowl and set aside.

Slice the avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives, and set aside.

Fry the tortillas in oil until browned and crispy. Be sure they’re crispy, otherwise they will be tough and chewy to bite. Drain on paper towel to cool.

Make the sauce. Assemble the tostadas with one-fourth cup of crab meat per shell, some slices of avocado, tomatoes and olives.

Drizzle the sauce over the top with a spoon. Or you can fill a small zip lock bag with the sauce, cut off a corner and drizzle.