Featured in menus of reputable San Francisco & Portland restaurants since the early 1900s, this crab meat salad is a typical example of a locally sourced West Coast salad.

In Canada we are about to embark on our first long weekend of the summer. Monday is called Victoria Day (or National Patriot Day in Quebec). The weather is looking relatively nice and I will do my first trip to the cottage on Sunday. It’s the perfect time to start eating a bit lighter to for the summer and enjoy lovingly prepared fancy salads. I came across this West Coast classic and just had to give it a try, the Crab Louie Salad.

Dungeness Crab, the one preferred in this Crab Louie Salad recipe, comes from the port of Dungeness in Washington. All produce grows beautifully in California, particularly avocado and asparagus too. I really enjoyed the artsy abstract presentation here inspire by The Taste of Oregon.

crab louie salad

The dressing is particularly unusual -mixing sweet pickle relish, black olives, eggs and chili sauce – but was actually very tasty. It is definitely worth waiting one night for the flavor to mingle. I hope you will give this refreshing and inspiring Crab Louie Salad recipe a try.

crab louie salad closeup

Crab Louie Salad

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

For the dressing:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup chili sauce
  • a dash or two of Sriracha
  • 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
  • 2 tbsp black olives chopped
  • 1 hard-boiled eggs chopped or grated

For the salad:

  • 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce chopped
  • 1/2 pound crab meat
  • 1/2 avocado peeled and sliced
  • 1 1/2 to matoes sliced into wedges
  • 4 oz fresh asparagus cooked and chilled
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs halved or quartered
  • 4 scallions trimmed with 3 inches (7½ cm) of the greens remaining

Instructions
 

For the dressing:

  • Mix all ingredients until combined and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight.

For the salad:

  • Make a bed of lettuce on the plate and artfully place the remaining ingredients on the lettuce. Serve with the dressing drizzled on top or serve on the side.

Notes

To make the green ends of the scallions curl, slice them with a sharp knife or scissors from the beginning of the dark green color to the cut ends and place in an ice water bath.