Recipes

Syrian Flatbread with Crab and Tropical Guacamole

For an easy appetizer or a light lunch, this Syrian flatbread – made with crab and served with guacamole – fits the bill

By Caren McSherry /

Credit: Flickr / Mathom

Choose a thin, wood fired flatbread as the base for this tasty appetizer

For a quick and easy appetizer, try this healthy seafood flatbread served with a zesty guacamole

There is a huge array of flatbreads on the market now, so choose the one you like best, but just ensure that it is fairly thin with char marks indicating it has been wood fired.

Topping it with crab meat and guacanole makes a nice light appetizer, or you can serve two or three rolls on a plate, with chili mayo in the centre, as a tasty first course.

Ingredients

  • 1-½ pounds fresh Dungeness crabmeat
  • 2 cups fresh arugula, long stems removed
  • 6 fresh flatbreads of your choice

Tropical Guacamole:

  • 2 ripe avocados, peeled
  • ½ ripe papaya, peeled and diced
  • 1 large shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • Favourite hot sauce, to taste
  • 1 cup mini tomatoes, quartered
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions 

1. Blot the crabmeat on paper towels, taking care to remove and discard any shells. Break apart the larger pieces. Give the crab a squeeze of fresh lime juice and chill until assembly time.

2. Place the peeled avocado, papaya, shallot and garlic in a medium bowl. Using a large fork, mash the ingredients together, but do not mush. You want a chunky consistency with pieces about the size of your thumbnail.

3. Add the Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, hot sauce and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Add the cilantro and taste for seasoning.

4. To assemble the rolls, lay the flatbread on a work surface and cut each into an 8×8 square. Spread a layer of guacamole over top. Evenly distribute the crab over the guacamole, followed by the arugula.

5. Roll up each piece of flatbread and cut into 2-inch pieces.

6. Serve with a chili mayonnaise.

Makes 24 rolls.

Listen to Caren McSherry Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. on CKNW 98.

Originally published in TVW. For daily programming updates and on-screen Entertainment news, subscribe to the free TVW e-newsletters, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.