Potato and Crab Salad

I read an article today about how someone or other in marketing had come up with an idea to sex-up the humble spud – yes potatoes given a sexy treatment! Not sure how I can relate to my jacket baked potato, simple boiled new or mashed delight being coined desirable but with a sexy allure.

I love potatoes as much as the next person (and in times gone by maybe even more with skinny fries, chips and buttery fondant mash on the menu) but somehow for me it’s the simple rustic, generally comforting and know-what-you’re-getting nature of potatoes that I find endearing.

But as I read on and was encouraged to see the other side (the sexy side) of potato combos I became a little more intrigued (not to be mistaken for aroused!). One suggestion was to gussy up potato salad with something other than the usual boiled egg, chopped ham or shredded vegetables. So I thought I would give it a try with something I don’t cook with often – crab. And it certainly has a luxurious and summery feel to it as an ingredient that only comes or goes out once in a while.

Crab however, like potatoes, is a mild tasting ingredient and I don’t think its delicate flesh and taste need too strong a treatment by adding over-powering extras. So I kept to one of my mantras KISS (Keep It Simple Sweetheart) and simply dressed this assembly of cooked and diced new potatoes with flaked white crabmeat with just a basic lemon creamy dressing flecked with snipped chives from the kitchen garden.

The verdict? It’s sublime and the finishing salad much more than the addition of all the basic components combined. Indeed we said this was a potato salad wearing Ray Bans for the summer (or Speedos for those who like a fishy story!).

I served it on a bed of salad leaves alongside some thin slices of smoked salmon and it was a real weekend treat. Add a lemon wedge for some extra zing to the salmon slices.

Sexy? OK I’ll run with that ….

POTATO AND CRAB SALAD

Ingredients

METRIC/US

8 cooked medium new potatoes

about 175 g/6 oz cooked crab meat (I used a 170 g/6 oz can jumbo crab meat which gives 120 g/4½ oz when drained)

2 tbsp extra light mayonnaise

2 tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt

juice ½ lemon

4 tbsp snipped fresh chives

salt and freshly ground black pepper

green salad and smoked salmon to serve (optional)

lemon wedges to garnish

Method

Dice the potatoes into small bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl with the flaked crab meat.
In another small bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the yogurt, lemon juice, chives and salt and pepper to taste.
Add the the prepared dressing to the potato and crab mixture and toss to coat.
Serve with salad and smoked salmon if liked and with lemon wedges to garnish.

SERVES 2

WLS PORTION: ½

CALORIES PER PORTION (POTATO AND CRAB SALAD ONLY): 192

PROTEIN: 11g

CARBOHYDRATE: 37g

FAT: 1g