crab and cobnut salad

green cobnuts. no, me neither. but the veg shop sold them and obviously i had to buy them. i had some last year but that was in autumn and it was a different kettle of fish altogether. couldn't tell you how, precisely, but they just tasted very different. more like almonds.

raw, green cobnuts taste like pretty non-descript (nice though) but toasted they're crunchy and sweet - delicious. almost popcorn like. you could chuck them in any salad - i just fancied crab and there is something special about a combination of crab, avocado and chilli.

so this is less of a recipe and more of a suggestion to eat weird and wonderful things you see sold in greengrocers.

CRAB AND COBNUT SALAD

for two

a bunch of watercress or other leaves (rocket would be nice)

1 dressed crab

1 avocado, cut into chunks

1/2 chilli, deseeded and chopped finely

3 tbs olive oil

1tbs lemon juice

20 or so green cobnuts (other nuts would be okay, obviously)

seasoning

first, toast the cobnuts. well, actually, first, shell the cobnuts. in my case, this involved a rolling pin and a sore thumb. toast them in a hot oven at 200C for around 45 minutes. keep checking - they go soft at first but then harden a little while later. this is what when they're ready.

next, make the dressing. just mix the olive oil, lemon juice and the chopped chilli, and season.

finally, mix all the ingredients together and pour over the dressing. mix lightly with your hands. that's it.