Today Dishing: Mango, Crab and Avocado Tower

For your next Summer bash, what could be better than a colorful, healthy appetizer? This one can also serve as a first course, presented on a bed of lettuce and made in a teacup to obtain a domed effect.
                                        
This appetizer offers all kinds of opportunity to make it your own. The mango mixture depends on you. Use the tastes you enjoy. This one is our invention and includes the tastes we prefer.

MANGO, CRAB AND AVOCADO TOWER
makes two towers

1 ripe mango
1 cup crab meat. Canned may be used but I suggest using lump crab meat. I used 2 crab leg clusters.
   2-3 large crab legs would produce enough meat.
2 ripe avocados
1 lime, juice and zest
1 teaspoon salt
2 dashes red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro
1 small shallot, diced super fine

Cooking spray

Remove peel from mango and cut into a medium chop.
Mix the last five ingredients in a bowl with the chopped mango. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour.
If using fresh crab, steam in a generously salted pot of approximately 3 cups water.
Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon then add the 1/2 lemon to the water.
Steaming should take no more than five minutes.
Remove crab meat from shells, and set meat aside.

Peel avocados and cut into medium chop.
Spray  a rock glass with cooking oil.
Fill bottom of glass with 1/2 crab meat.
Push down the crab with the bottom of a smaller glass to even out the layer.
                                                                                
Add 1/2 the mango on top of crab.
Tamp down the mango to  create another even layer.
 
Add avocado to top of mango, tamping down again .
                                                                              
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

To Serve:

 Remove plastic wrap from glass.
Turn glass over onto serving plate. Gravity will forst the tower out of the glass.
Surround late with wedges of lemons and limes and  tortilla chips or crackers.

These Towers lean a bit due to the serving platter, but within minutes only crumbs remained.