Butter Poached King Crab with Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salad

Recipe by Chef Shane Moore, South RestaurantCourse: MainCuisine: Seafood
Servings

4servings

Total time

1hour 

Ingredients

  • Butter-Poached King Crab
  • 8 oz clarified butter (see note at bottom)

  • 2 to 3 lb wild Alaska king crab

  • Kaffir Lime Lemongrass Broth

  • Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salad

  • Cilantro Ginger Pesto

  • Garnish: Alaska Grown beet sprouts

  • Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salasd
  • 2 c cooked tri-colored quinoa (½ c dry uncooked quinoa)

  • 1 c torn Alaska Grown kale leaves

  • 1 tbsp minced garlic

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • Cilantro Ginger Pesto
  • 1 bunch cilantro

  • 1½ tbsp fresh grated ginger

  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

  • 2 oz (about ¾ c slivered) toasted almonds

  • ⅓ c olive oil

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • Fennel Orange Salad
  • 4 oz Alaska Grown fennel, sliced thin

  • 1 orange, segmented

  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  • Kaffir Lime and Lemongrass Broth
  • Place all ingredients in a large pot over high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for one hour. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and strain broth, discarding solids. Keep broth warm until ready to serve.
  • Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salad
  • Remove stems from kale and tear leaves into bite-size pieces. Heat oil in a pan and sauté garlic one minute or until golden. Turn off heat and stir in kale and cooked quinoa.
  • Cilantro Ginger Pesto
  • Place all ingredients in a blender and purée; set aside.
  • Fennel Orange Salad
  • Combine fennel and orange in a mixing bowl. Squeeze lime over salad and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
  • To Serve
  • Heat clarified butter in a small saucepan and keep warm. Dip cooked crab in butter and gently toss to coat just before serving.
  • In a shallow serving bowl per person, add a ladle or two of kaffir lime broth. Toss Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salad with Cilantro Ginger Pesto and divide evenly among bowls. Top with Butter Poached King Crab and Fennel Orange Salad. Garnish, if desired, with Alaska Grown beet sprouts.

Notes

  • To make clarified butter, heat 12 ounces unsalted butter in a heavy-duty saucepan over low heat until melted. Let simmer gently until foam rises to the surface. Remove pan from heat and skim foam from the top (discard foam or keep for adding to soups, polenta, bread, oatmeal, etc.). Line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Strain butter, leaving any solids in the pan. Store clarified butter in refrigerator up to several weeks.
  • South Restaurant, Anchorage