Crab Cakes with Spicy Cream Sauce (adapted from Ellie Krieger)

Crab Cakes with Spicy Cream Sauce

I've always loved ordering crab cakes at restaurants - they've felt like a special treat to me - but I haven't been very comfortable working with fresh seafood at home. Lately I've been experimenting with preparing different varieties of fish and assorted crustaceans and building my confidence in this arena. So when my friend Shirley Betz told me she'd made these healthy crab cakes and said how "easy" they were to make, not to mention delicious, I had to try it. The diced jalapenos and the spicy cream made with Sriracha sauce made these a total win for me. (PS - I love Sriracha sauce. When I want to light a small yet tasty fire in my mouth - this is my go-to ingredient.)

Here's Ellie's recipe for Crab Cakes with Spicy Cream and below is how I made it:

Serves 6-8

Oven 425 degrees F

Crab Cakes:

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  canola oil cooking spray (I used Pam)
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  2 teaspoons canola oil
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  2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced, green and white parts
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  1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
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  1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
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  1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger root
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  2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
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  1 pound of crab claw meat (I used Pacific Cove wild-caught Jumbo Lump Blue Crab)
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  1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
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  2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
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  1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus whole leaves for garnish
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  1 large egg, beaten
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  1 cup Panko breadcrumbs, divided
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  1 tablespoon good mayonnaise (I used Best Foods real mayo)
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  1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with canola oil and saute scallions, green peppers and jalapeno for about 2-3 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mix together the crab, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, egg, 1/2 cup of the Panko, 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise, salt, and the cooled scallion/pepper mixture. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs on a plate.

Form 6-8 crab cakes with the mixture and roll each in Panko to coat the outside. Place crab cakes on sheet pan sprayed with canola oil spray (or lined with parchment paper). Spray tops of crab cakes with canola oil spray and bake in oven for 10 minutes. Gently turn crab cakes over and spray other side with canola oil spray and bake for another 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Spicy Cream Sauce:

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  2 tablespoons good mayonnaise
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  1/3 cup nonfat, plain Greek-style yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
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  1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (or more to taste)

Mix together in small bowl and set aside.

To serve top each crab cake with a dollop of the spicy cream and garnish with extra cilantro. Serving size = 2 crab cakes.