Spicy Crab Panzanella
Husband-and-wife team Scott Tacinelli and Angie Rito, chef/owners of Don Angie in New York City, are known for their refined Italian-American dishes, like this panzanella (bread salad) topped with spicy marinated crab. The recipe makes more garlic puree than you will need, but it has endless uses in the kitchen—try putting some in your homemade salad dressing, or mix some into ground beef to make meatballs or meat loaf. It will keep for a week in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Ingredients
For the roasted garlic puree:
- 12 heads garlic
- 2 1/2 cups (20 fl. oz./625 ml) vegetable oil
For the garlic croutons:
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbs. finely chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) (2 oz./60 g) unsalted butter
- 3 heaping cups (10 oz./315 g) torn bread (1 1/2-inch/4-cm pieces) (from a crust-on Italian-style loaf or focaccia)
For the marinated tomatoes:
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- Kosher salt
- 2 or 3 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) pieces (about 4 1/2 cups/27 oz./845 g)
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/3 cup (1 oz./30 g) thinly sliced green onions (2 or 3 green onions)
- 1/3 cup (1 3/4 oz./50 g) finely chopped shallot (1 medium shallot)
- 1/4 cup (1 1/4 oz./40 g) thinly sliced pepperoncini peppers (4 or 5 peppers)
- 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
- For the marinated crab:
- 1/3 cup (2 3/4 oz./85 g) mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) mayonnaise
- 2 Tbs. sriracha hot sauce
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 lb. (250 g) jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shell fragments
- 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
- 6 celery leaves
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
To make the roasted garlic puree, preheat an oven to 275°F (135°C).
Cut off the top 1/2 inch (12 mm) of each garlic head, exposing the tops of the cloves. Place the garlic heads, cut side down, in a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish. Add the oil to the dish. Roast until the garlic has softened and turned golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool.
When the garlic is cool enough to handle, remove the garlic heads from the oil. Reserve the oil for another use, such as making salad dressing or for dipping bread into. Gently squeeze each garlic head over a bowl until the roasted cloves are released from their papery skins. Discard the skins. In a blender, puree the roasted cloves until smooth. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the garlic croutons, in a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) of the olive oil, the garlic, thyme, oregano and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
In a large sauté pan or heavy pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) olive oil. Add the bread and stir to coat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the bread is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add the olive oil–garlic mixture and stir to coat the bread. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is toasted and the bread is golden brown and crisp around the edges, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt and stir to combine. Transfer the croutons to a paper towel–lined plate.
To marinate the tomatoes, in a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 Tbs. of the roasted garlic puree, the sugar and 2 tsp. salt. Add the tomatoes, celery, green onions, shallot, pepperoncini and basil and toss to coat. Let stand for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour before assembling the salad.
To marinate the crab, in a medium bowl, whisk together the mascarpone, mayonnaise, sriracha, lemon juice, sugar and 1 tsp. salt until combined. Add the crab and fold to evenly coat with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To assemble the salad, just before serving, add the garlic croutons to the bowl with the tomatoes and toss well so the liquid from the tomatoes soaks into the croutons. Spoon the tomato-crouton mixture onto a platter or into individual bowls and top with dollops of the marinated crab. Garnish with the basil and celery leaves. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and add a few grindings of pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
Reprinted from ©Italian American by Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli with Jamie Feldmar, Clarkson Potter, 2021
