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Seafood Salad

This makes a large, beautiful salad that works best as a main dish for a buffet. It can easily be scaled up or down and looks prettiest with alternating rows of pink and green ingredients. The platter  can be assembled the day before and stored in the fridge, as long as there is a wide enough shelf available.
Based on a recipe from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, 1985, Workman Publishing, NY.
Total Time2 hours
Course: Gluten Free, Main Course - Seafood, Prepare Ahead - Serve Later
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Buffet, Can be made ahead, For Entertaining, Seafood
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Catherine Christiano

Ingredients

Horseradish Sauce

  • 1 head romaine lettuce thick cores trimmed
  • 1 bunch watercress thick stems removed
  • 8 ounces snow peas trimmed, stringed, and blanched for 1 minute
  • 1 pound bay or sea scallops poached 1 to 2 minutes
  • 1 pound medium shrimp tails left on, peeled, deveined, and cooked
  • 1 small cucumber cut lengthwise in half, seeded, sliced 1/8 inch thick
  • 1 small red onion finely diced
  • 8 ounces Blue cheese crumbled
  • 1 pound lump crabmeat or lobster meat
  • 10 radishes sliced

Instructions

Prepare the horseradish sauce.

  • Line a serving platter, approximately 18 x 13 inches or larger, with the large outer lettuce leaves. Arrange the snow peas around the perimeter of the platter. Shred the remaining lettuce. Toss together with the watercress and arrange in an even layer on the platter. 
  • Assemble the remaining ingredients in lengthwise rows. Place the scallops down the center. Line the shrimp close together, with the tails up, in rows on either side of the scallops. Next add rows of cucumber slices, then narrow lines of onion and Roquefort. Follow with rows of the crab or lobster and then the radishes. 
  • Serve the salad with the horseradish sauce. 

Notes

If watercress is unavailable baby arugula may be substituted.