Crab Salad with Bell Pepper and Mango

For hot summer weather, the tropical notes in this salad balance sweet and sharp, spicy and cool, simple and stylish—
a great combination anytime.

2 limes
5 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt
12 ounces crabmeat, picked over to remove any bits of shell
3 scallions, chopped (green leaves included)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus more whole
leaves for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh gingerroot, peeled and minced
Boston or other loose-leaf lettuce to make a bed
1 ripe mango
1 red bell pepper, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded

First make the vinaigrette dressing. Grate the outer zest from one lime into a small bowl. Roll the lime back and forth
on the countertop, pressing gently, to be able to extract more juice. Halve and squeeze the juice, 2 to 3 tablespoons
(you may need some juice from the other lime to make 3 tablespoons in all). Mix together the lime zest, juice and olive
oil, and season to taste with cayenne and salt.

Taking care not to break up the lumps of crab, in another bowl mix together the crab, scallions, cilantro, and gingerroot. Stir up the dressing, taste to check the seasoning and turn half of it into the crab mixture.

With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the mango. Stand the mango up and cut through two slices parallel to
the flat pit. Cut the flesh lengthwise on both sides to make long thin curving slices. Cut the red pepper lengthwise into
thin strips approximately the same size as the mango slices.

Lay a bed of lettuce on four serving plates. Put a mound of the crab mixture in the center of each and arrange the
mango and pepper slices around the outside. Drizzle the remaining dressing around the crab. Slice the second lime in
quarters for garnish with the whole cilantro leaves.

Makes 4 servings.