Mediterranean Crab Pasta Salad, flavors of a Pomegranate vinaigrette, sweet crab meat, chili peppers and pistachios, stuffed inside of shell pasta.
The Perfect Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Having grown up in a Mediterranean influenced home, yet right here along the crab capitol of Maryland, I just had to combine the two for a perfect summertime luncheon.
Blue Crabs are in season only during the warm months of the year and so making this crab salad for summertime meals was the perfect way to showcase my two M’s (Mediterranean and Maryland)!
Crabs Crabs and More Crabs!
The Chesapeake Bay of Maryland has some of the best, fat, sweet crabs around.
Our dearly loved family waterman (4th generation), Captain Alan Poore, spoils our family with crabs in the summer and oysters in the winter.
Having featured my Maryland Crab Cakes on Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games, gave me the chance, nationally, to showcase a dish I grew up eating.
Add to that, my newly invented Mac and Cheese Crab Rolls, featured on Food Network’s Clash of the Grandmas (episode 2), are both something to boast about!
I wanted to make something more delicate and healthy, with this luscious crab meat, for everyday, at home cooking.
This recipe just quietly happened!
Blending My Mediterranean Roots With My Maryland Cooking Ingredients
The sweet, and yet pungent Pomegranate Dressing, with the citrus spice of sumac, brought contrast to the sweet meat of the crabs.
Toss in the crunch of pistachios and some fresh pea shoots with shredded carrots and you’ve got a very healthy, yet flavor satisfying salad.
How lucky we are to live in a time in which ingredients from around the world are made available, no matter where we live.
Pomegranate was once only available around the winter months here in America.
However now, with the juice of the pomegranate available all year, Mediterranean recipes can be possible year round as well.
The Better Pasta Salad
Pasta salad became a ‘thing’ when I was growing up in the 60’s.
It was usually swimming in mayonnaise and definitely not something I grew a liking to.
A healthy crab salad, both bright and a bit spicy, is what I wanted stuffed inside pasta shells and easy to serve.
Definitely not a pasta salad swimming in dressing, but rather a pasta salad that allows each flavor to shine through.
I’d love to hear what you think of this salad, especially if you too grew up with mayonnaise style pasta salads!
Ingredients Needed
- Crab meat
- Pistachios
- Red chili pepper flakes
- Pomegranate seeds
- Pea shoots
- Carrots
- Chives
- Jumbo Pasta Shells
- Pomegranate Sumac Dressing
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowl
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Mixing spoon
- Small spoon
- Box grater or vegetable peeler – to shred the carrots
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Stovetop or burner
Mediterranean Crab Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Pasta pot
Ingredients
- 8 oz Crab meat
- 1/2 cup Pistachios rough chopped
- 1/4 tsp Red Chili Pepper
- 1/4 cup Pomegranate Seeds
- 1/2 cup Pea Shoots
- 3/4 cup Carrots shredded and then chopped to confetti
- 1/4 cup Chives chopped to confetti
- 12 Jumbo Pasta Shells cooked
- 1/4 cup Pomegranate Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Homemade
Instructions
- Toss shells in enough dressing to coat them so they don’t stick together, and to flavor the shells before filling.
- Gently mix the crab, nuts, pomegranate seeds, shoots, carrots, and chives.
- Add enough dressing to the mix, without becoming too wet. Gently fill the shells with the crab filling.
- Place whole pea shoots on a plate. Display the stuffed shells on top of the shoots. Drizzle a very little amount of dressing across the plate, or a little pomegranate molasses from the dressing recipe. Serve
Video
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.