Crab Cakes

By Tamipri

Ingredients

• Herb Sauce:
• 3/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/4 c. chopped parsley
• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro
• 2 Tb. minced shallot
• 2 Tb. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tb. capers, drained
• 1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Crab Cakes:
• 1/2 lb. lump crabmeat, (from the blue or Dungeness crab)
• 1/4 c. minced scallions
• 1/4 c. finely diced red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh basil, or cilantro
• 2-3 Tb. mayonnaise
• 1 1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/8 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 3/4 Tb. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 egg, slightly beaten
• 4 Tb. panko bread crumbs
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste

Details

Servings 16

Preparation

Step 1

1. For the Sauce: Put the mayo, sour cream, parsley and cilantro into a food processor and pulse to blend. Stir in the remaining ingredients and taste for herbs, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. This will keep well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

2. For the Crab Cakes: Pick through the crabmeat to remove any cartilage, being careful not to break down the chunks. Combine the crabmeat, all of the minced vegetables and the basil or cilantro in a large bowl.

3. In a second bowl, combine the mayo, lemon juice, mustards and seasoning. Gently fold this into the crab mixture. Fold in the egg. Sprinkle in 2 Tb. of the crumbs, salt and pepper and fold together, being careful to leave the crab chunks. You should have a moist, but manageable mixture. If it is too sloppy to form, add a little more crumbs.

4. Form into 16-20 bite-size cakes (about 1" in diameter). Press the remaining crumbs onto all sides of the cakes. Place on a flat tray, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight before cooking.

5. Preheat the broiler. Place the cakes on a greased baking sheet. Broil for a total of 3-5 minutes, flipping once. They can then be held warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. To serve, top each crab cake with a dollop of the sacue and an herb leaf.

Variations:
Thai Crab Cakes: For the sauce, use cilantro in place of the parsley and chives ( a total of 1/2 c. chopped cilantro). In Step 2, replace half of the crab with 4 oz. lean ground pork and use both the minced basil and cilantro. In Step 3, eliminate the two mustards and Old Bay seasoning and add 1 Tb. fish sauce, 1/8 tsp. sugar, 1 1/2 Tb. minced fresh ginger, 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 Tb. minced garlic and 1 minced, seeded small serrano chile. Shape and cook as above.

Thai Banana Crab Cakes: Add 1/3 c. mashed ripe banana to the Thai Crab Cakes in Step 2.