For the Dungeness crab salad:
8 ounces Dungeness crab meat, cleaned and picked
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh-picked herbs (such as chervil, tarragon leaves, mustard leaves, romaine spears and chive batons), for garnish
Combine the crab meat, crème fraîche, shallot and chives in a bowl and mix. Season to taste with salt and chill until soup is served. Reserve herbs for plating.
For the arugula purée:
2 cups wild arugula
½ egg yolk
Kosher salt, to taste
Blanch arugula and shock in ice water to preserve bright green color. Place in a blender with egg yolk and blend on high, seasoning with salt, to taste. Remove and reserve.
For the soup:
¼ cup shallots, sliced
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Small head of romaine lettuce heart, finely chopped
5 cups freshly shucked English peas, blanched and cooled (reserve shells for soup stock)
2 cups fresh fava beans, blanched, peeled and cooled
Zest of 1 lemon
Pea stock (recipe follows)
¼ cup crème fraîche
Salt, to taste
Sauté shallots over medium heat in olive oil until transparent. Add the romaine, sauté until soft, then remove from heat and chill. Place the peas, fava beans, shallots and romaine into blender, then add lemon zest and pea stock, filling up the blender ¾ full. Blend on high speed. Add the crème fraîche, salt to taste, and stock until thicker than the stock itself. Strain, 3 times.
For the pea stock:
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds English peas
5 cups pea shells (from soup)
Sweat onions in olive oil over medium heat until transparent. Add frozen peas and shucked pea pods. Cover with 1 gallon of cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour, then strain and chill.
To assemble:
In the bottom of each soup bowl, place 1 ounce of crab salad. Pour soup into bowls, garnishing with fresh-picked herbs. To finish, dot with arugula purée. Serves 6−8.
Wine Recommendation
Jayson Knack, sommelier at Rancho Valencia, looks to Domaine Yves et Mathilde Gangloff’s 2010 Saint-Joseph Blanc to pair with this cold soup recipe. “This Marsanne has great weight in its texture, which is important with soup,” says Knack, “and the stone fruit and backing acidity play well with the flavors of crab and arugula.”