The good thing about last week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (which I am just now catching up with) was that I had everything needed to make it except for one ingredient. The bad news? That one ingredient was crazy expensive! Yep, at €25 for a small can of lump crab meat (enough for two servings), Crab and Avocado “Ravioli” is definitely a special occasion kind of dish.
The high price was highlighted all the more by my experience at the grocery store, perhaps because the crab was the only item in my basket. I watched with decided sheepishness as the cashier checking me out calmly scanned my purchase, blanched at the amount which popped up on her screen, checked, rechecked, and then checked the price again, before finally asking me what I was buying, in a voice which clearly indicated that she thought the scanner had malfunctioned. I told her it was crab and that the price was correct. She then gave me a look which clearly indicated that she thought my brain had malfunctioned. I wasn’t yet sure if she was wrong.
Once home, I VERY carefully mixed the crab salad, or the “filling” for the faux ravioli, so as not to break up the chunks.
I then read, reread, and reread again Dorie’s instructions for using my mandoline to thinly slice an unpeeled avocado all the way through the pit. If you couldn’t tell, I was pretty darn skeptical that this whole idea was really going to work, and was then pleasantly shocked when it actually did. Well, for a while anyway. Once I got about halfway through, the mandoline got stuck on the pit and started to smush my avocado. It was quite an effort to get the thing unstuck without thinly slicing my fingers!
All of which is how I came to make two versions of this dish. One with my beautiful mandoline slices…
And one with my slightly more, er, rustic (thank you for that word, Mardi!) slices of the remaining half of the avocado…
Both versions were equally delicious and I would probably go the less dangerous route of just slicing up an avocado by hand if a suitably special occasion ever presents itself for me to make this again.
one expat's life 
I’m impressed that you even tried the mandoline – I was too chicken! And your crab looks so delicious. We really enjoyed the flavors of this dish and I think it tastes great no matter how it’s presented.
I hope you’re able to get a new kitty soon. We adopted 2 brothers – Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn – after Braveheart died. They just bring so much joy to our lives.
I think we all had about the same reaction… I ended up using the remainder as tostadas, but yours looks equally delicious. Fun to try… but probably won’t make another attempt! Always a great flavor combination.
I used my mandoline, sliced several slices from one side of the avocado, then turned the avocado and sliced from the other side.
Both of your versions look wonderful! I can’t believe how expensive your crab meat was. I wonder if you could have used shrimp to make the salad…next time!
Your mandoline slices are gorgeous but I agree, definitely not worth the trouble. Every time I buy crab (which is infrequent) I’m shocked by how expensive it is.
I had the same problem with my mandoline getting stuck on the pit. My salads were definitely “rustic”. We loved the flavors of this one!