pea and crab salad

Mark Bittman is my hero (well, sort of). He boasts of cooking in a tiny kitchen, just like I do. Except, he own a condo in New York with a great view, a big freaking terrace with a large freaking grill. Nevertheless, he is a wonderful chef and writer, and I love his column in the New York Times. That's where I came across this scrumptious looking pea and crab salad. Now I am not much of a pea fan, especially in salads. But I am a big enough crab fan to give this salad a try. That being said, the salad was divine, peas and all. 

If I haven't said this enough on my blog, I love summers, but hate the heat. And that in turn  means I keep the cooking on absolutely necessary basis. So here is another salad recipe from me. I promise they will slowly disappear as fall and winter approach. But for now, here is a delicious salad that you will love. I served it with some simple baked fingerling potatoes and got myself a satisfying meal.

Pea and crab salad

Adapted from Mark Bittman

I have used frozen peas instead of fresh ones. Shelling peas is not labor of love for me, it's just labor. And it helps me skip the process of poaching them. But you can use fresh peas as recommended in the original recipe.

11/2 cups frozen peas, thawed (about 1 bag)
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped finely
1 cup fresh cooked crabmeat (you can use shrimp instead as well)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Handful of pine nuts

Freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 lemon
Shredded basil for garnish

Salt and ground black pepper per taste

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients and add some salt and pepper. Garnish with Basil and serve!!!

Baked fingerling potatoes

1 bag of fingerling potatoes (about 20 potatoes)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

few leaves of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven (I used my toaster oven) at 400 degrees. Mix everything and lay on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or till the potatoes are fork tender and serve.