Crab Cakes

My recipe for crab cakes is from Wolfgang Puck’s Adventures in the Kitchen cookbook. With an almond meal crust and a red pepper cream sauce these are the classiest crab cakes I’ve seen. Atop a bed of mixed greens they make a fine summer lunch.

Serves 6

YOU WILL NEED

  • 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

  • ½ medium yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

  • 1 jalapeño

  • 1 medium red onion, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed

  • ½ cup dry white wine

  • 1 pint (2 cups) cream

  • 1 ¼ # lump crab meat

  • 3 cups mixed greens

for the crabcakes:

  • 2 T olive oil

  • ½ medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

  • ½ medium yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

  • ½ medium red onion, diced

  • 1 cup cream

  • 1 t jalapeño, finely chopped

  • 2 t chives, finely chopped

  • 2 t dill, finely chopped

  • 1 t parsley, finely chopped

  • ½ t kosher salt

  • Pinch cayenne

  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

  • 1 cup bread crumbs

  • 1 c almond meal (found at TJ)

  • 1 ¼ # lump crabmeat

for the sauce:

  • 2 T olive oil

  • ½ medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

  • ½ medium red onion, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed

  • ½ cup dry white wine

  • 1 cup cream

  • Juice of one lemon

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

Prepare the crab cakes:

In a sauté pan , heat the olive oil. Add the onion, red and yellow peppers and gently sauté over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.

In a small saucepan, heat cream and jalapeño and reduce by one-half (so that ½ cup remains). Cool.

Chop chives, dill, and parsley and add to pepper-onion mixture. Stir in cooled cream, salt, and cayenne. Stir in egg and ½ cup each breadcrumbs and almond meal. Gently fold in crabmeat. Divide mixture into 12 crab cakes - about 2 ½ ounces each.

Combine remaining breadcrumbs and almond meal on a plate. Coat both sides of crab cake well. Place on a tray and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Prepare the sauce:

Start the sauce closer to the point of service, or about 30 minutes before you plan to sauté the crab cakes.

Sauté pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Deglaze pan with white wine and cook until 3 tablespoons of liquid remain. Add cream and bring to a boil.

Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain into a clean pan. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and reserve, keeping warm.

Plating:

When ready to serve, wash salad greens. Prep a sheet pan with paper towel to drain the crab cakes.

Working in one or two skillets heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté crab cakes for about 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown, avoiding over-crowding. Transfer to sheetpan to drain while sautéing all the crab cakes.

Plate greens and arrange two crab cakes per plate. Drizzle sauce over the greens and crab cakes. Enjoy immediately.