With all the holiday parties coming up, I’ve been on the lookout for some simple, tasty and visually appealing appetizers. I plan on providing a run down on Holiday Appetizer recipes later this week, but until then, please enjoy this concoction from Latin Cuisine genius, Jose Garces, compliments of Chow.com
Garces introduces one of my favorite shellfish, dungeness crab, to avocados and chilis for a tasty new play on the Mexican guacamole.
Game plan: To roast the garlic and jalapeño, coat them in vegetable or canola oil and place in a 500°F oven until the garlic is golden brown and the jalapeño skin is blistered and blackened. If you don’t have time for this, don’t worry; the roasted garlic and jalapeño add a nice complexity to the dish, but the guacamole will be delicious regardless.
Special equipment: A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle. If you don’t have one, you can substitute a standard mortar and pestle or a bowl and a large fork or spoon.
TIME/SERVINGS
Total Time: 30 mins
Active Time: 10 mins
Makes: 3 cups
INGREDIENTS
2 medium ripe Hass avocados
3 medium garlic cloves, roasted
1 medium jalapeño chile, roasted, stem and seeds removed, and finely chopped
1/2 pound Dungeness crabmeat, picked clean of shell fragments
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 medium plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
6 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 heads endive, leaves removed and edges trimmed
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Garlic Chips, for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Halve avocados, remove pits and skins, and coarsely chop. Place in a molcajete or bowl and add roasted garlic. Mash until only small chunks remain. Add roasted jalapeño, crabmeat, onion, tomato, 4 tablespoons of the cilantro, lime juice, and salt and stir until just combined.
Place endive leaves on a serving plate and dollop each with guacamole.
Combine remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro and olive oil in a small bowl, season with salt, and stir until thoroughly mixed. Drizzle oil on top of each endive leaf and garnish with a garlic chip, if using.
Original recipe: http://www.chow.com/recipes/13692?tag=nl.e351
