Grapefruit and Avocado Crudo
Grapefruit crudo, avocado, chervil and capers – this isn’t tuna!
I was goofing around with cutting citrus fruits into cubes the other day, and the red grapefruit looked so much like tuna. Not that I eat tuna, but of course I see other people eat it at sushi restaurants. I tried slicing it vertically into slabs instead, which was also beautiful. You could take this concept in a sashimi direction, but I opted for crudo instead – a.k.a. Italian sashimi. The avocado makes a perfect complement, adding that rich, contrasting mouthfeel to offset the bite of the grapefruit.
Crudo is typically dressed with olive oil, sea salt, and a citrus juice, which in this case is built in. I added capers, chervil and chervil. I haven’t quite decided whether this dish works better cold or at room temperature. If you try it, let me know what you think.
To cut the grapefruit, use an uber-sharp chef’s knife. Remove about a 1/2″ or so slice from the top and bottom. Resting on the bottom, make four vertical cuts to produce a rough cube, removing all of the skin and pith. Now slice vertically into 1/3″ thick slabs, avoiding the core. If you get just a little bit of core you can put that side down on the plate. Slicing grapefruit this way produces a lot of waste material. I think I got about 5-6 useable slices from a single fruit. So be sure and juice the rest for a cook’s treat.
Grapefruit Crudo with Avocado, Chervil and Capers
Serves 4 as an appetizer
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
- 2 red grapefruit, sliced as described above
- 1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
- about 12 chervil sprigs
- 1 tablespoon capers, briefly soaked to remove some salt and drained
- 2 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt (Maldon (aka the world’s greatest salt)!
)
- fresh ground black pepper
- Arrange grapefruit pieces pleasingly on a plate.
- Top each slice with 1 piece of avocado, 1 chervil sprig and a few capers.
- Drizzle olive oil on plate and fruit.
- Add a few grains of crunchy sea salt and some grinds of black pepper to each slice.
