Kool Cabbage–Seafood Salad Tacos

Tom Fraker

Melissa's

A refreshing twist on the standard seafood taco, this gluten-free version features a creamy crab and shrimp filling that's topped with a fiery hatch chile hot sauce.

Yield

8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

Hatch Chile Hot Sauce:

  • 4 ounces Melissa’s Don Enrique Dried Hatch Chiles, stems and seeds removed
  • 1 ounce Melissa’s Don Enrique Dried Chile Japones, stems and seeds removed
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 cups seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 cup tomato purée
  • 1/2 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  • 2 cloves Melissa’s Peeled Garlic
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 tablespoon pepper

Seafood Salad Tacos:

  • 1 pound crabmeat
  • 1 pound cooked shrimp, chopped
  • 3 celery ribs, chopped
  • 2 green bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, chopped
  • 3 cloves Melissa’s Peeled Garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 head Melissa’s Kool Cabbage, ends trimmed and leaves carefully separated
  • Hatch Chile Hot Sauce to taste

Method

Make the hot sauce: place the Hatch chiles in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Let the chiles sit and rehydrate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, toast the chile Japones until they are lightly charred. Remove and let cool. In the same pan, toast the sesame seeds until they are golden brown. Remove and let cool. Place the Hatch chiles and steeping water in a blender, add the remaining hot sauce ingredients, and blend until smooth. Strain and set aside.

Make the taco filling: in a large bowl, gently mix together the crabmeat and the rest of the ingredients, except for the cabbage and hot sauce.

To assemble the tacos, take 1 Kool Cabbage leaf and add about 3 tablespoons of the taco filling to the middle. Top with a drizzle of the Hatch Chile Hot Sauce and enjoy.


https://www.jamesbeard.org/index.php/recipes/kool-cabbage-seafood-salad-tacos