Crab and Peach Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Friday morning I found myself staring at the few, scattered items in my refrigerator wondering what on earth I could make for breakfast and lunch. Grabbing a can of not-so-paleo-friendly soup crossed my mind; it would be fast and simple. Not only was having a can of processed veggies and chicken in over-salted water not too appealing, but the weather has also been way too hot lately for soup. Unless, it's homemade gazpacho. Wow, that's such a good idea. I might have to try that soon. ;) Don't steal my idea! Just kidding. In fact, if you have a good gazpacho recipe that is, or could be made, paleo-friendly, please let me know!

OK, so back to Friday morning: You may have already seen my morning concoction. If you haven't, check it out: Ancho-Chipotle Over-hard Eggs with Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Avocado

For lunch, I was inspired by the crab meat (freshly plucked, just the other night, from way lots of home cooked crabs--we got them live at the seafood market at the D.C. Warf and man, oh, man, were they feisty until we finished steaming them!) and the HUGE peach that remained from the quart I purchased at the Kings Street farmers' market. Yummy.... :) Here's what I came up with:

Crab and Peach Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients (for 1 serving)

• 3-4 medium or large romain lettuce leaves
• 1/2 - 1 cup of fresh crab meat 
• 1 large peach
• 1 small shallot
• 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (mine was frozen, and it was fine, but fresh is best)
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley

Method

1. Mince the shallot.
2. In a very small pot or pan, simmer the balsamic, shallot and olive oil together for at least 5 minutes, but no more than 10 minutes. In the meantime, you can prepare the rest of the salad...
3. Chop the lettuce and place on your plate, in your bowl, or (if you're like me and taking this to work) into your plastic container.
4. Chop the peach into bite-size (or smaller) pieces. If you're planning to eat this right away, go ahead and toss the pieces over the romaine. If you're taking it to work, put them into a separate plastic container. (Mixing everything before toting it off to work or where ever you plan to go will result in the salad getting rather soggy from the peach juices.)
5. Chop the cilantro and parsley. Go ahead and toss those in with the romaine.
6. Sprinkle the crab meat over the lettuce mixture.
7. Once the balsamic mix is reduced: Again, if you're going to eat right away, drizzle it over the entire salad, toss together and enjoy. If you're taking it to work, pour the reduction into a separate small travel container.
8. Once you're at your destination and ready to eat, mix all the ingredients together and gobble up! 

Leftovers really can be a gold mine! This salad was delicious. Here are a few photos...

However, I couldn't help but think of some alterations. Spinach in addition to or instead of the romaine would have been perfect for this salad. Also, the parsley wasn't necessary. A little more fresh cilantro would be great. Finally, I don't think I needed to add the olive oil to the balsamic reduction. Ok, last one: I could have cooked the shallot just a smidgen before adding it to the balsamic vinegar for the reduction.

Do you have any ideas for alterations to spice this up or improve it? Let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks! :)