Chef's Notes
This tower is beautifully light and delicious. The combination of colors, textures, and flavors makes it a great choice for an appetizer or a light lunch.
The seafood tower is a fresh, simple appetizer that will take you about an hour from start to finish, and everything but the assembly can be done ahead of time. Just make sure that the seafood you buy is very fresh and the avocados are ripe, but firm.
Next time, try substituting finely diced sushi-grade, raw tuna for the shrimp or crab.
To make a mold, use a small can and remove both ends. For the plunger use a small bottle that just fits inside of the can. Be sure to wrap the bottom of the bottle in plastic wrap before using.
Roasting the Yellow Peppers
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Roast the peppers in the oven until golden brown and blistered, about 30 minutes. If you want to cut down your time in the kitchen, move onto another step until the peppers are ready.
Once the peppers are ready, remove from the oven. Immediately place them into a bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. This creates steam that will loosen the skins making the peppers easier to peel.
Allow them to sit, covered for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 1: Roasting the Yellow Peppers
- 2 yellow bell peppers
Making the Dill Dressing
Finely chop the dill and mix with the buttermilk, lemon juice and sour cream. The consistency of the dressing should be quite thick.
Step 2: Making the Dill Dressing
- 3 sprigs fresh dill
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Making the Chive Oil
Note: This will make more chive oil than you need, but this amount is required for most blenders to be able to blend the mixture properly. The left-over chive oil can be used as an alternative to plain oil in other salad dressings, and will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Finely slice one bunch of the chives and set aside for the crab mix.
Coarsely chop the remaining two bunches of chives, along with the parsley. Place the herbs into a blender, along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend until you get a bright-green color. This should take about a minute. Strain into a bowl. If it seems too thick, add a bit more oil.
Step 3: Making the Chive Oil
- 3 bunches fresh chives
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 1/2 cups olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Preparing the Seafood
Set aside a few nice pieces of shrimp for garnish. Give the remaining shrimp a rough chop.
Set aside a few nice pieces of crab for garnish. Roughly chop the remaining crab meat. Add the reserved chives and a few tablespoons of dill dressing to the crab meat and mix together.
Step 4: Preparing the Seafood
- 4 oz fresh baby shrimp
- 4 oz fresh crab meat
Preparing the Vegetables
Once the roasted peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and seeds, and finely dice. Drain and chop the sun-dried tomatoes.
The last step prior to assembling is to dice the avocados. Cut the avocados in half. Remove the pit and scoop out the flesh. Dice the avocados and then add the lime juice. Add the salt and pepper and mix gently, making sure the avocado pieces retain their shape.
Step 5: Preparing the Vegetables
- 1 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 whole, ripe avocados
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Assembling the Seafood Tower
This recipe requires a mold and plunger. If you don’t have one you can use a small can (156ml) for the mold and a small bottle for the plunger (see note, below).
Start by placing the mold onto an individual serving plate.
There are only a few things to keep in mind when assembling the seafood tower:
1) You will need a solid base, so start with the yellow peppers.
2) To make a stable tower, you have to pack down each layer with the plunger.
3) Rinse the plunger between each layer.
4) Only use about a tablespoon for each layer and alternate layers for color and texture.
Removing the mold requires a delicate hand. As you pull up on the mold, apply a light downward pressure with the plunger.
Finish the plate with a drizzle of the chive oil and a little of the dill dressing.