Crab Remoulade Mesclun Salad

The Recipe

Croutons:

1 sourdough or french bread baguette, sliced into 30 very thin slices
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning- recipe follows

Drizzle oil over bread slices in bowl, or brush a little onto each slice. Toss bread gently with seasoning, bake at 375 until crisp at the edges, 4-5 minutes.

Creole Seasoning:

4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. Onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. celery seed

Mix thoroughly in small bowl.

Remoulade Sauce:

2 cups mayonnaise
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
2/3 cup creole mustard or good brown mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. finely chopped capers, drained well
2 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or TT
2/3 cup finely chopped scallions
1/3 cup finely diced celery
3 Tbsp. finely minced red bell pepper
3 Tbsp. minced parsley
S&P TT

Mix everything in bowl. Let sit at least 1 hour or up to one day for flavors to blend.

Salad and final assembly:

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. White wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. creole mustard
pinch of s & p
1 lb mesclun (baby leaf) salad
20 oz. lump crabmeat, well picked over

Quickly mix dressing ingredients; dress greens lightly. Divide mesclun between 10 cold plates. Mix crabmeat with ½ of remoulade. Top each plate with an even amount. Decoratively drizzle remaining remoulade over edge of plate; add three croutons to each plate.

Serves 10 as a first course or about 5 or 6 as a main dish

The Story

This is nowhere near the pain in the neck to make that it sounds like. And it's good, very good.

The creole seasoning can be made well in advance. It makes much more than you need- which is lucky, because you will end up dreaming about the croutons and making them just for snacks. Trust me, you will, they're that good.

This recipe so easily scales up and down for more or fewer guests. It makes a great main course or as a plated first course.