Late Summer Sunday Lunch - Crab Cakes

To Chill or not to Chill:
There is a lot of preparation for this dish but not a lot of cooking, so this is best if you can prep the day before and cook them off the next day. I thought I could do it all quickly in one day, but surprisingly, Alexis decided to sleep in, which is beyond rare. I was not getting up just to prep crab cakes when I could take advantage of relaxing in bed, so it did take me longer than expected to get lunch ready, but En didn't seem to mind; he got to cuddle with Alexis.

Everyone says chilling crab cakes are crucial to their maintaining form. Because I had to get lunch on the table, I thought to experiment. I made fourteen crab cakes, nine were put in the refrigerator and the last five were formed and went straight in the pan. It was true; the cakes were so delicate and I had to constantly repair the shape lightly with fork tines and the spatula especially when I turned them, but by the time they had finished cooking, they held enough form that I could slide them onto the plate without the cakes breaking. The chilled cakes held up to the spatula work without falling apart. This seems to make a better case for preparing it a day ahead.

Real Crab? Imitation?
I'm not a millionaire and cannot use real crab every week. Nor is any shellfish that healthy for us with high cholesterol, but of all the shellfish, crab is the one to use. This recipe works well with real, imitation, or a combination of the two. I admit, when I use imitation, I have to add the amount of crab paste stated in the recipe below. This provides the oils and essence of the crab. The important thing is that my family absolutely loves this recipe.

Crab cakes in the pan: Note the crust and the space in the pan.

Served with the spiced mayonnaise

Crab Cake

Lump Crabmeat		1 lb, drained
Corn Kernels		1/2 cup
Carrot		1
Celery		2 stalks
Onion		1 large
Garlic		1 head, minced
Whole Wheat Bread		4 slices
Barley Flour		2 tbsp
Light Mayonnaise		1 cup
Crab Paste		4 tbsp
Thyme		4 tbsp
Paprika		2 tbsp
Bay Leaf		2 leaves
Clove		3 cloves
Coriander		1 tbsp, whole seeds
Cardamom		5 pods
Ancho Chilli		1 dried chilli
Chilli de Arbol		1 dried chilli
Black Pepper		1 tbsp, whole seeds
Sea Salt		1 tbsp
Cornmeal		1/3 cup
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Spiced Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise		1 cup, no fat
Ancho Chili		1 tbsp, freshly ground
Chili		1 tbsp, freshly ground

Preparation:

1. Drain the crab meat until most of the water has been drawn out (I weight it down with a plate and a weight on top of the plate).
2. Toast the bread until it is too dark and dry and let it sit.
3. In a spice grinder, pulverize the black pepper, cardamom, clove, bay leaves, coriander and salt and set aside.
4. In the same spice grinder, pulverize the ancho and de arbos chillis, add half to the previous spice mixture and set the other half aside.
5. In a food processor, add chopped carrot, celery, garlic and onion and work mixture until minced very fine.
6. In a mixing bowl, add vegetable mixture, corn kernels, crab meat, spice mixture and crab paste and work until combined.
7. Add 1 cup of the mayonnaise and stir to combined.
8. In the food processor, add the barley flour and break the toasted bread into manageable pieces and blitz until you are left with very fine, sand like breadcrumbs. Add this to the mixing bowl and stir until combined.
9. Shape the crab cakes as you please. I use a hamburger press and then push the sides in and press the top down for the perfectly formed crab cake.
10. Layer over plastic wrap and set in the fridge to firm up, anywhere from one hour to overnight.
11. Heat canola oil in the pan at medium high.
12. Dust each crab cake with a sprinkle of cornmeal on both sides and gently place each in the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan, else the cakes will not develop the proper crust.
13. Reduce heat to medium and cook for ten minutes on each side.
14. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining mayonnaise and remaining chilli powder.
15. Serve crab cakes with the spiced mayonnaise.
16. Makes approximately 14 cakes.