Who doesn't love crab cakes? A couple of posts ago I mentioned that nasturtium leaves make perfect little serving platters for crab cakes. When I lived in Corona del Mar the leaves were much bigger on my nasturtiums and even larger on those that grew wild on the bluffs at the beach. But even my smaller leaves like I get from my pot contained nasturtiums will do just fine. Most cooks have their own reliable recipe for crab cakes. I like mine with a few veggies added and a nice mayonnaise. Emeril Lagasse has a great recipe that I tweaked a bit but the mayonnaise is worth posting first hand. Always use the best hand picked lump crab you can find, I like using the Panko Japanese bread crumbs for more crunch and everything else FRESH. Emeril's "Essence" Creole seasoning is great to have on hand but any sort of pepper (cayenne or ancho) plus paprika will do as well. So here goes:
FRESH SPICY MAYONNAISE:
1 egg
juice of one Meyer lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp Chipotle or favorite hot sauce
In a small food processor with a metal blade, process the egg and lemon juice for 1 minute. With the machine running, slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil. The mixture will be thick after all of the oil has been incorporated. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce, process the mixture to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Use for binder for crab cakes and as sauce for serving.
Serve hot crab cakes over nasturtium leaves and garnish with sauce and nasturtium flowers. The flowers are spicy, the leaves are mild but all are edible.
Add a nice cold white wine or Margarita and life is about to get better.
Bon Appetit!
footnote: homemade mayonnaise is fabulous! The ratio of 1 egg, juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup oil is essential. Feel creative and add any flavorings at all. Flavored mayo is fantastic when used on a sandwich and will add depth of flavor. Using olive oil will contribute good (unsaturated) fat as opposed to bad (saturated) fat most often found in commercial mayo.
3 comments:
Thanks for the mayo recipe, sounds good.
I don't like too many extra ingredients added to my crab cakes because I like to taste as much of the delicate crab as possible. I do add an egg, panko crumbs, sometimes capers, mayo, lemon juice, fresh grated parmesan, a little paprika, S&P.
I bet your C/C were delicious :)
I love your creativity Denise. You think outside of the box and it's such a gift. I've never seen crab cakes look so beautiful :) Just love what you did!
Thank you Scarlett. What a nice compliment.
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