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I'm sure that lots of you have seen enough turkey for a while so I thought you might like to try some of my crabcakes. It was during my first stint working in the USA in the seaside resort of Ocean City that I fell in love with a crab!
The blue crab which is indigenous to the eastern seaboard from as far North as Nova Scotia to Argentina in the south. It has been introduced (via ballast water) to Japanese and European waters and has been observed from the Baltic Sea,North Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.
The natural predators of the blue crab include eels, drum, spot, trout, some sharks, and cownose sting rays. The blue crab is an omnivore, eating both plants and animals. Unlike the brown crab which is native to the seas around the UK and has quite a strong taste the crabmeat from the blue crab is a milder sweeter taste and is now occasionally seen in UK fishmongers and supermarkets. Most of the blue crab meat seen in the UK comes from Thailand.
Crabcakes
450g (1lb) pasteurised (blue crab) meat
3 tbsp good mayonaise
3 thick slices of white bread
a dash of worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1tsp of Cajun spice or (Old Bay*)
50g (2oz ) Plain flour
100g (4oz) natural breadcrumbs
Method
1. Trim crustsfrom bread and dice into small cubes.
2. Whisk one egg together with the mayonnaise until it is well blended.
3. Add the Cajun (or Old Bay) spice mix, Worcestershire sauce and French mustard.
4. Stir in the bread cubes and picked crabmeat* and divide the mix into 8 equal sized small balls.
5. Dust the balls io the plain, shaking off the excess, then into beaten egg (the remaining egg)
and finally into the breadcrumbs.
6. Reshape into a cake shape and aly them onto a tray lined with parchment paper.
Green Thai Curry Sauce
2 tins of coconut milk
1 Tbsp green thia curry paste
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 dessertspoon of finely chopped ginger
1 small lemongrass stalk, bashed flat
2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander ( Cilentro)
8 large basil leaves
2 dessertspoons Vegetable oil
few drops of fish sauce
2 lime leaves
1. Preheat oven to 180 C gas mark 4
2. Fry garlic and ginger with one deseertspoon of vegetable oil on a high heat in a non-stick saucepan, stirring often for two to three minutes.
3. Turn the heat to low add the rest of the ingredients except the coriander and basil.
4. Simmer the sauce on a low heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat.
5. Remove the lime leaves and the piece of lemongrass and add the basil and coriander and keep warm.
6. Fry the crabcakes in two batches until they are lightly brown on boths side then transfer to a non-stick baking tray and cook in the oven for a further 5-6 minutes until they are goden brown.
7. Whilst the crab cakes are cooking in the oven stir fry a little vegetables to create a bed for the crab cakes to sit on to keep them crisp.
To Serve (If serving as a main course serve two per portion if as a starter one.)
Spoon a little stirfried into the centre of your warm plates, top with a crabcake and pour some of the sauce around the plate.
Chef Tips
If you can not find tins of pasteurised (blue crab) meat then of course you can substitute. if you use Brown crabs (UK crabs) then I suggest you mix a little flaked cooked white fish into the mix to bulk it out and make it less expensive. Old Bay seasoning is a unique and wonderful blend of spices sold in and around The Chesapeake Bay area in the USA. If your ever in that area be sure to buy some!!
For more great recipes visit my food blog and say hello. www.wannabetvchef.blog.co.uk |
