Chilled Crab Salad With Roasted Beets & Asparagus

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Wash and chop the ends off the beets.

Wrap beets in foil, place on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast for 50 minutes until tender (test by piercing with a fork). Allow to cool.

When beets are cooled, remove the peels by simply brushing them off with your fingers.

With a knife, quarter beets and set aside.

Bring a large saute pan filled with water to a boil. With a knife, slice off the tough ends of the asparagus.

Place the asparagus in the boiling water and reduce heat to a medium simmer. Cook for 5 minutes just until the asparagus are tender yet still crisp.

Immediately transfer the asparagus to a bowl of water and ice for 2 to 3 minutes or until cooled. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

To make the dressing…

Chop the scallions. Place both white and green parts into a food processor or a good blender.

Do the same with the basil, parsley, and dill and add them to the scallions in the food processor.

Chop the garlic and add to the herbs in the food processor.

Add lemon juice. Pulse the food processor until everything is finely chopped and mixed.

Add the anchovy fillets and give the food processor another quick pulse.

Next, add the creme fraiche, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

Puree until all ingredients are combined and the dressing is smooth. At this point you can make all of this a day in advance, refrigerate and plate whenever you serve.

NOTE REGARDING THE CRAB: For this recipe you can either use fresh frozen crab legs from your fishmonger or fresh crab that is packaged in water in containers (usually located in 8 ounce containers in the seafood department of your grocery store in the refrigerated section). If you use fresh lump crab meat from the container, drain any water from the container and use as is. No prep is needed. If you choose to use fresh crab directly from the claws and legs, follow these instructions:

1.Purchase 1 bundle of crab legs, either King Crab (recommended) or Snow Crab. A bundle is basically one half of a crab. These types of crab will always come cooked and frozen.

2.To easily remove the crab from its shell, wrap crab legs in damp/wet paper towels and completely wrap in plastic wrap. Because King crab is so large you will need to divide it into 2 legs to a bundle.

3. Place on a microwave safe plate and microwave each bundle separately for a minute and a half on regular power. You can also use an electronic or bamboo steamer for 3 minutes. Never boil crab. It just becomes a soggy mess.

4. Remove from the microwave and allow to cool to the touch.

5. With a crab mallet or hammer, gently tap the shells of the crab legs. Holding a crab leg in your hands, break the leg in half and gently remove all of the meat you can and place in a bowl. Discard shell. Repeat with all legs and claws. Place crab meat in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to cool completely.

To Plate:
Grab your favorite plate and place a dollop of green goddess dressing in the center. On top of that add 2 ounces of lump crab meat.

Place the beets (4 quarters per plate) and asparagus (3 to 4 spears) on the plate near the dressing.

Top the crab with a little lemon zest and you are ready to serve!