Citrus Crab Salad on Sourdough

Citrus Crab Salad on Sourdough is a light, refreshing salad that’s bursting with bright flavors. It’s perfect for a light meal or served or an easy appetizer.

Salads are Perfect for Springtime

I’ve been going a little crazy with salads this spring, but with good reason. They are light, refreshing, generally not too difficult to make and perfect as we move to summer dining when the temperatures are soaring.

This citrus crab salad on sourdough is actually one of my husband, Steve’s, absolute favorites.

Which really says something about how delicious it is because he is typically not a big salad guy.

He doesn’t hate salads but he can usually take them or leave them, especially when it’s more of a main dish salad.

Using Quality Lump Crab Meat is Worth the Price

This is a salad that I adapted slightly from a Rachael Ray recipe quite a few years ago. I haven’t made it in quite a long while, but then Steve reminded me about it not too long ago (remember, it’s his favorite), so it went on my list of things to make.

Since it’s so scrumptious, I also had to make sure I shared it with all of you.

Now, I will tell you, this isn’t the most economical salad to make. Quality lump crab meat can be a little on the pricy side, but it’s definitely worth the splurge every once in a while.

In the past, I’ve been able to find it at an OK price at Sam’s Club and Costco, but this time they didn’t have any. I ended up finding my crab at Trader Joe’s.

The price didn’t make me gasp and it was really tasty.

Cost aside, citrus crab salad on sourdough is actually fairly healthy and full of bright, fresh flavor. Not to mention, it’s super easy to make.

We love it as a light main dish, but it’s also a great appetizer. In the past when I’ve made this, we ate it as part of what I like to call a “snack dinner”.

I serve the crab salad along with meat, cheese, crackers or these easy antipasto skewers and fruit. It’s a perfect summer meal out on the deck.

Ingredients Needed to Make the Citrus Crab Salad

• Lump crab meat
• Lemon juice
• Red wine vinegar
• Fresh oregano
• Fresh parsley
• Navel oranges
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Green Onions
• Sour dough or other crusty bread

How to Make Citrus Crab Salad:

• Start by preparing the citrus dressing.
• In a small bowl you’re going to mix together the juice from the lemon, red wine vinegar, oregano, parsley, zest from one of the oranges, salt, pepper and olive oil.
• Once your vinaigrette is mixed together, put the crab meat in a larger bowl. Make sure you break it up with your fingers and remove any pieces of shell.
• To prepare the oranges, cut the peel off both oranges. Then cut each orange into quarters and then cut each quarter into thin slices. Add them to the bowl with the crab.
• Toss the crab mixture with the dressing and sliced green onions.
• Finally, slice the sourdough bread, coat with olive oil and broil until toasted.
• Serve the crab on top of the bread.

Tips and Tricks for Making Citrus Crab Salad

• While I highly recommend spending the extra money for the lump crab meat, you could use imitation crab as a substitute.
• If you don’t have fresh oregano on hand, you can substitute 1/2 tsp of dried oregano. I have also used fresh thyme, along with the dried oregano.
• For the best quality, I wouldn’t make this salad more than a couple of hours ahead of time. The longer it sits, the more liquid is released from the oranges, which will make the salad watery.
• If you don’t want to serve this on top of bread, you can also serve it over a bed of lettuce, which is equally delicious.

ENJOY!

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