Baked Crab Cakes with Spicy Avocado Sauce
This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno.
Ingredients:
For sauce:
1 medium California avocado, peeled and pitted
1 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (may need more)
1/2 tsp salt
1 chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup milk (optional)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
For crab cakes:
1 lb jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over and coarsely shredded
3 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup minced fresh chives or scallions
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
Instructions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Make sauce:
Pulse avocado with mayonnaise, lime juice, salt, and one half of the chile in a food processor until chile is finely chopped. Taste and add more chile if desired. If you would like to thin the sauce, add a little milk and purée until smooth. Stir in the chopped cilantro and transfer sauce to a bowl and chill, covered.
Make crab cakes:
Gently stir together crabmeat, mayonnaise, egg, chives or scallions, lemon juice, mustard, and pepper in a large bowl until combined. Form into 4 or 8 patties, cover and chill for about an hour.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over moderate heat, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the salt, and panko and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer crumbs to a plate to cool. Discard garlic. Stir in the chopped cilantro.
Carefully turn each chilled patty in the crumb mixture to coat top and bottom. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining mounds, then sprinkle remaining crumbs on top of crab cakes. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve crab cakes with sauce.
Makes 8 appetizer or 4 main course servings.
From circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com