Crab Cakes!

I'd never made crab cakes before tonight. I looked up recipes online, and merged a bunch to make what ended up being light, flavorful, and really really delicious crab cakes. A bunch of recipes called for mayonnaise, but I hate mayo, so I substituted sour cream, and I think it turned out great. You can add more or less mustard depending on your taste, but I used a heaping tablespoon of a really strong Dijon mustard, and could taste it after they were cooked, but not too strongly. I grated some rock-hard stale baguette for the breadcrumbs, but a bunch of recipes suggested panko, or Japanese breadcrumbs (available at Asian food stores) for texture. I think regular breadcrumbs worked just fine. I even found that the flavor of the crabmeat meant that I didn't need to add salt!

So here's the crab cake recipe, as well as an avocado-lime sauce that was just splendid.

Crab Cakes

• 1/2 cup green onions, minced
• 2 large eggs (I just used the yolks, but I think the crab cakes would hold together better with 2 whole eggs.)
• juice from half a lime
• handful of fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 pound crabmeat (I used blue crab)
• 2 cups breadcrumbs (I got tired of grating and used less, but I think a full 2 cups would have been better)
• 1-2 tbsp sour cream (or mayonnaise)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• black pepper, as needed

1. Mix all ingredients together. If crab is chunky, puree mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Melt just enough butter to cover the bottom of a saucepan. When butter is hot, spoon crab mixture into pan. Compress with spatula.
3. Cook crab cakes until they are brown on one side, then flip.
   
4. Enjoy!

Avocado-Lime Sauce

Blend the following ingredients until smooth:

• 1 ripe avocado
• juice of half a lime
• 1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes (the spicy ones; adjust amount depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1/4 cup skim milk (more if necessary to achieve the texture you want)
• 2 tbsp sour cream (optional)

That might be the first recipe I've invented(ish)! It's not too bad, if I do say so myself. And it goes great with risotto.

Happy cooking!