Crab Cakes-Ruth Chris

By dorchuk

Ingredients

• 1 pound lump crab meat
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons cracker meal (5 or 6 saltines, crushed)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely diced red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely diced green bell pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Pick through crab meat, removing any shells.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg and parsley. Add cracker meal, mayonnaise, mustard and pepper; stir until thoroughly blended. Carefully fold in crab, trying not to break up crab pieces. (Mixture may be refrigerated up to 2 days before cooking.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a heavy baking sheet with sides or a shallow ovenproof skillet in the oven to heat.

When pan is hot, drizzle surface with olive oil. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop crab mixture onto hot pan and flatten slightly. Bake about 10 minutes, until golden brown and hot on the inside.

NOTE: Baking (rather than the usual pan-frying) makes these soft-textured crab cakes easy to handle, but they are rather pale on top. For a better appearance, bake on the uppermost oven rack, or bake 10 minutes, turn the crab cakes, then bake 2 minutes more.