BOIL IT UP! Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito puts his spin on a seafood boil! 🦀
Crab & Heirloom Tomato Salad with Super-Sweet Corn Broth
I ADAPTED this vibrant salad from my book Flavor, maintaining its total celebration of summer’s best produce with one welcome addition: fresh crab. Garlic-infused oil, basil-scented vinegar, sweet fresh corn broth, and salty, creamy crab meld together for a truly magical experience. The result is an elevated first course, perfect for any dinner party or weeknight celebration. While many of these ingredients can be found in grocery stores year- round, this salad in particular rewards patience. Wait until the peak of summer, when the corn is extra sweet, and the tomatoes are thriving.
Ingredients –
- 1½ bunches Thai basil, leaves chopped\and stems cut to 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- Salt
- 3 ears corn, husked and halved crosswise
- 2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled and whole
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 heirloom tomatoes
- 8 ounces lump crabmeat
- 4 ounces goat cheese
How to Make:
- In a small bowl, cover the basil stems with the red wine vinegar. Add ½ teaspoon salt and set aside.
- Grate the corn on the large holes of a box grater. Place the kernels in a saucepan along with the cobs and just enough water to cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, then discard the cobs and pass the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Taste the corn broth for sweetness and add the sugar, if desired, then season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the garlic and boil for 1 minute. Drain the water and return the garlic to the saucepan. Add the olive oil, set the pan over medium- low heat, and simmer until the garlic has infused the oil and is aromatic, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Place the tomatoes over an open flame on your stovetop. Use tongs to rotate until the tomatoes are blistered on all sides. Set the tomatoes aside until they’re cool enough to handle, then peel and slice into thick rounds.
- In a glass container, combine the tomatoes and chopped basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper, then strain the garlic oil over the top (you can reserve the confit garlic cloves for a future recipe).
- Pull the tomatoes from their marinade, letting any excess oil drip off. Arrange on four individual plates.
- Whisk the leftover tomato marinade into the sweet corn broth to make a sauce.
- Place the crabmeat in a medium bowl and drizzle with a touch of the sauce. Stir gently to combine.
- Top the tomatoes with the crabmeat and drizzle with more Sauce.
- Strain the basil stems out of the vinegar (and discard the basil stems). Splash each plate with the vinegar. Crumble the goat cheese over the top of each salad and serve.
Mussels & Shrimp Boil with Cajun Garlic Butter
ENTER the shellfish boil—yet another example of a fun and festive dish to share. Nothing says “party” like gathering with friends outdoors on a hot day with music blasting and piles of shellfish stacked high on newspaper. That’s the spirit I’m going for with this dish, which is inspired by Cajun cuisine, a distinctly Louisianan style that combines French, Spanish, and African influences to make something totally unique. Though you can serve the boiled shellfish in piles and with bibs New Orleans–style, I’ve made things slightly easier—and less messy—here, with bowls and pre peeled shrimp. Bibs or not, the spirit, and flavor, remains just as vibrant.
Ingredients:
CAJUN GARLIC BUTTER
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
TO MAKE THE CAJUN GARLIC BUTTER
- Pour ½ inch of olive oil into a deep pot and set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and carefully brown, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary so it doesn’t
burn.
- Add the Cajun seasoning and allow the spices to bloom in the fat for a few seconds, then stir in the butter. When the butter has melted, pour into a small bowl and set aside.
SHELLFISH BOIL
- 1 tablespoon extra- virgin olive oil
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup Pomi brand strained tomatoes
- 1¼ cups light beer
- 2 pounds mussels, debearded and soaked in cool water
- 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 lemons, cut into wedges
MAKE THE SHELLFISH BOIL
- Return the pot to the stove and add the olive oil, along with the celery, onion, and bell pepper and sauté for 2 minutes. Season. with salt and black pepper and sauté for 1 minute more.
- Add the strained tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour in the beer and bring to a simmer. Drain the mussels and add to the pot, along with the shrimp. Cover and cook for 5 minutes,
stirring halfway through.
- Discard any mussels that don’t open, then distribute the open mussels and shrimp with the vegetables and liquid among eight bowls. Pour the Cajun garlic butter over the top of each bowl. Garnish with the parsley and serve with the lemon wedges alongside.
